


Thrusters on Full

by WibblyWobblyWeirdo



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Aliens, F/M, M/M, Mavin, Minor Character Death, Other, Side Raywood, Star Trek AU, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 12:19:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 38,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3609858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WibblyWobblyWeirdo/pseuds/WibblyWobblyWeirdo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gavin Free had dreamed of space since he could spell the word. Starfleet offered him the chance to live his dream of exploring the stars. Life on the USS-Achievement would be everything he wanted it to be and more.<br/>What he didn't expect was to discover a whole new planet on the verge of tearing itself in half.<br/>Both geographically and socially.<br/>With his new crewmates and the planet's outcast Prince, Gavin is racing against time to save this lost world.<br/>What is necessary, is never unwise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Space, the final frontier...after the shuttledock.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm unsure how often i'll update this, but I'll try to do it as often as I can. More notes at the end.
> 
> Here's a playlist for this fic- http://8tracks.com/absoluteschubert/thrusters-on-full

Space was an expanse that exceeded human understanding, as far as Gavin Free was concerned. It went on forever and begged to be explored. There was no other path the lad wanted to take in life besides the one that led to the stars. Enter, Starfleet Academy.

  
“Come on B! Just one night of celebration! We’re going off-planet tomorrow!” Gavin’s voice jumped an octave in excitement as he begged with his best friend Dan to go out to celebrate their last night on Earth for a while.

  
“I don’t know, B. We need to be up early tomorrow to report for launch. Showing up plastered would not be the best idea.” His older friend, Dan Gruchy, responded as he scrolled through a magazine on his tablet.

  
The two sat in their shared apartment in the ever advancing city of London. Starfleet had given them a week from their commencement to prepare for their expeditions off-planet. It was a very nice gesture, but also rather bitter-sweet.

  
The two men had been friends even before attending Starfleet Academy, and were nearly inseparable. Their professors noticed this as well and usually made it to where they could work together. So, naturally, they had assumed they would eventually be assigned to the same starship with Dan as a science officer and Gavin in navigation. However, that assumption would be wrong.

  
“Pleaseeeee, B? We’re not going to be able to see each other for such a long time!” Gavin whined as he flopped over the back of the couch. Dan rolled his eyes and lightly whacked Gavin over the head with his tablet.

  
“Then let’s just stay home and watch a movie or play some games. No bevs, just sometime with each other.”

Gavin huffed and crossed his arms with a pout. “Fine, you win this time. You never let me have any fun.”

  
Dan laughed as he remotely commanded the oven-like replicator to make a pizza. “If it mean I can stop you from hurting and/or making a fool of yourself, then I’ll ruin all the fun you can ever have, B.”

(~~~)

  
The loading dock was full of shuttlecrafts and the scurrying crew members of numerous different ships. Pipes hissed and sprayed every so often and the sound of roll-calls and shouted orders echoed through the large hanger. It was so huge, Gavin was almost sure he would never find his own shuttlecraft. Dan however spotted his right away.

  
“There’s the loading for the USS SloMo. I guess this is where we part ways, B.” Dan said as he turned to face his friend. He wore a smile but it was lopsided and his eyes were sad. The tough reality that he might never see his friend again suddenly hit Gavin hard.

  
He launched forward and hugged Dan as tightly as he could. “Be safe out there, B. I’ll see you when we get back.”

  
Dan returned the hug with equal measure. “You do the same. I won’t be around to save your arse, so don’t go poking your nose in alien business where it doesn’t belong.” For emphasis, he pinched Gavin’s nose playfully.

  
Gavin swatted him away and resigned to watching his friend board the shuttlecraft. When Dan was gone from sight, the brit turned with a sigh to search for his own shuttlecraft.

  
While the USS-SloMo was a large Galaxy II-Class starship, Gavin had been assigned to the USS-Achievement, a simple Constitution-Class starship meant for exploration. He knew very little about the ship, and only knew his Captain’s name from a passing conversation.

  
Captain Geoffrey Ramsey wasn’t one of the youngest Captains, but he wasn’t one of the older ones either. He had a slight reputation for stubbornness towards his superiors, but otherwise he was a rather respected Captain. His spontaneous tendencies and slight alcohol problem did tend to get him in trouble, however.

  
“Luna, USS-Achievement!”  
“Aye!”  
“Tuggey, USS-Achievement!”  
“Aye!”  
“Narvaez, USS-Achievement!”  
“Aye!”

The sound of a roll being called reached Gavin’s ears and he turned towards it upon recognizing the name of his assigned vessel. A man with glasses and a short beard stood on a platform and called names, receiving an ‘Aye’ in return. Gavin recognized him as Admiral Burns, one of his former teachers at the Academy.

  
Wasting no time, Gavin lightly jogged over to where a group of whom he assumed to be his new crewmates stood in orderly lines. He took a spot at the end of the back row, a little surprised when another boy ran up and stood in a spot beside him. “Not late am I?” He muttered to Gavin discretely, obviously not wanting to draw attention to himself.  
Gavin shook his head minutely. “Nah, you’re good mate. Still doing roll-call.” He whispered back.

  
“Denecour, USS-Achievement!”  
“Aye!”  
“Shawcross, USS-Achievement!”

  
The man next to Gavin, who apparently owned the name Shawcross, called out an affirmative “Aye!” to the Admiral. Well, it was nice to know at least someone’s name on the ship he was about to be spending who knows how many years on.

  
“Free, USS-Achievement!”

  
With trained reflex, Gavin easily and quickly belted out “Aye!” He noticed Shawcross glance at him, figuring he was thinking the same thing he had before. It was a comfort to know at least a name with a face.

  
Admiral Burns lowered his PADD after listing three more names and looked out at the lined up crew. “The shuttle leaves at 0500. You have ten minutes to place your belongings with the attendants and be seated for launch. Dismissed!” His voice echoed over them and a resounding, collective “Aye!” rang in response.

  
Gavin turned to find the area where he was to drop his belongings off. There weren’t many things he had brought with him, both because of item restrictions and simple judgments. He had packed a few personal belongings such as some books and photos. Small decorations and touches to make his quarters feel more like home. He didn't really bother with much clothing, knowing that the closet in his quarters would already be full of carefully measured uniforms of different types.

  
With the entire crew attempting to make their way to the loading area, Gavin decided it best to hang back and wait for the crowd to dissipate. He noticed a few other crewmembers doing the same; two ensigns and a man he assumed to be a science officer, judging by his blue uniform shirt.

  
One of the ensigns picked at her nails while the other tapped away on a Mini-PADD, obviously engaged in some game. The science officer seemed to be taking in his surroundings, but soon lost interest. He caught Gavin’s eye and shrugged to himself before walking over.

  
“Hi, you get the same idea as me?” His deep voice rumbled pleasantly. It was almost startling to hear a voice like that come from this man’s mouth. He had a kind face and light hair that was swept to one side. He was rather good looking, which made Gavin feel a tad bit intimidated.

  
“Wait for the others to get out of the way? Yeah. I’m Free, by the way. Gavin Free, navigation.” Gavin said with a smile as he held out his hand. No time like the present to make friends.

  
The other man smiled back and shook his hand firmly. “Haywood. James Haywood, but please call me Ryan. I’m the new Chief Medical Officer.”

  
That was a useful bit of info that Gavin stored away for later. With his luck, he’d be visiting sickbay quite often. The memory of an incident during one of his training voyages made him wince and rub a spot on his right arm. “Right, I’m glad to have met you early on. Nothing ruins a first impression like deadly wounds.”

  
Ryan’s laugh was deep, but genuine. “Oh, don’t I know it.” He looked behind him at the boy who was still absorbed into his game. “Why don’t you come meet my friend Ray? He’s not as anti-social as he seems.”

  
Gavin shrugged. “Sure. It’ll be great to already know some people once we’re out in the stars.” He said with a smile.

  
The two walked over to the ensign, Ray, and stood by as he held a figure up to them. “Just a second, I’m almost done with this.” He muttered. A few finger swipes and a celebratory bing signaled his success. He looked up with a small grin. “Okay, I’m good now. What’s up Ryan? Who’s this?”

  
Gavin put out his hand as he had with Ryan and smiled. “Gavin Free, Navigation. Ryan said I should come over and meet you. It’d be nice to know someone else on this ship.”

  
Ray shook his hand. “Yep. Ray Narveaz Jr. It looks like you and me are going to be spending a lot of time together. I’m the head tactical officer. Guess we’re desk buddies.” He joked with a grin and a wiggle of his fingers in a sort of “jazz hands” motion.

  
Gavin laughed in return. Glad to know the one he’d be sitting next to on the bridge wasn’t some huge psychopath. Well, Ray could be a psychopath, but Gavin doubted it. He glanced at Ray’s mini-PADD curiously. “What were you playing?”

  
Ray’s eyes widened slightly and his grin grew. Gavin could hear Ryan mutter “Now you’ve done it.” from behind him. What, was he not supposed to ask? Were those the words that signaled Ray to kill? What?!

  
Ray held up his mini-PADD with the excitement of a toddler. “Dude, it’s only the latest Pokémon game. I just got it yesterday as a gift from my mom. Something for me to do so I don’t die of boredom in the middle of space.” His voice was full of happiness.

  
Gavin chuckled. He’d played Pokémon before, but never really kept up with it. But, it seemed like Ray was into video games which was great. At least they would always have a conversation topic if the bridge got too boring.

  
As Ray began a tangent on the game, the sound of someone clearing their throat made the three men turn. Admiral Burns stood with an amused smile on his face. Gavin quickly snapped to attention and saluted, barely registering Ryan and Ray do the same. “Sir!”

  
The Admiral chuckled. “At ease, boys. I’m sorry to interrupt your crew bonding time, but you have approximately three minutes till we deploy. I would get moving if I were you. You’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other later.”

  
Gavin nodded. “Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir.” He gathered his bag from where he’d placed it on the ground and followed Ray over to the loading dock with Ryan close behind. The excitement he had felt earlier returned with new vigor. He was going to space! His dreams to explore the galaxy were coming true and it was almost too much for the young brit to take.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed and continue on to the next chapter.
> 
> Live Long and Prosper!


	2. Boldly Going

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's first day aboard the Achievement promises to be an interesting one, no doubt.

The shrill beeping of Gavin’s alarm woke him from the dreamless sleep he was so comfortably lost in. He never realized he would sleep so soundly on a starship, but it was bliss. With a renewed energy from the realization of where he was, Gavin threw his covers off and nearly skipped over to his closet to grab his uniform. The gold shirt and black slacks should fit him perfectly. And he would test that theory right after a quick shower.

Once he was properly clean, Gavin dressed himself and look at his reflection in the standard issue mirror. The giddiness increased tenfold. He was about to go and start his first shift as a helmsman. The only thing that would make it even better was if his hair would pick a direction.

After five minutes of trying to tame his locks, the brit gave up and left his quarters. The walk to the turbo-lift was quick, but that might have been because he was power walking. He also may have hit the call button ten times in rapid succession, but really, who was counting?

When the doors opened, Gavin nearly bounced into the other occupant, who just happened to be Ray. “Whoa! Calm down there bouncing British man.” He chuckled as Gavin entered the lift. “You seem excited.”

Gavin nodded rapidly while continuing to bounce. “Yep! I’m so excited! I’ve dreamed of this since I was little.” He cheered. Ray couldn't spoil his mood. He doubted there was anything that could. However, as they neared the bridge, he reigned himself in a bit. If the Captain was already on the bridge, he didn't want to seem unprofessional.

Luckily, he wasn't and Gavin quickly took his spot at the helm, ray following slower after him. The controls in front of him felt familiar and it was almost second nature to run through the general start up of the ship’s navigational systems. As soon as the Captain gave the order, Gavin could take them out of the star base and into the unknown. 

“Captain on the bridge!”

An ensign Gavin recognized as Tuggey announced the arrival of their Captain. The crew stood and waited until the Captain had taken his seat before sitting down.

Captain Ramsey was unlike any Captain Gavin had ever seen. His uniform, while still being very neat, wasn’t as pressed as most. His hair was had a slight windswept look to it and Gavin noticed tattoos on his hands and peeking out from under his sleeves. The mustache that rested on his face was impressive and well kept. He had heavy looking eyes, but they sparkled and matched his easy grin as he took his seat. “At ease. Navigation report?”

Gavin took his seat and ran over his display before turning to his Captain. “All systems ready for deployment, Sir.”

Ramsey nodded and looked at Gavin. “Great. What’s your name, Ensign?” 

Gavin raised his eyebrows as he answered. “Gavin Free. Reporting for duty, Captain.”

Ramsey smiled as he nodded. “Gavin, gotcha.” He chuckled as his eyes swept the bridge. “Alright! Take us out Mr. Free. Maximum thrusters.”

Gavin’s pulse began to race as he tapped in the commands. “Thrusters fired, Captain. Separating from space dock.” It was an almost imperceptible feeling, but the tiny jolt of the Achievement moving forward and out of the range of the station sent chills up the young brit’s spine. “We’ve cleared the dock. All systems ready for warp, Captain.”

Ramsey’s face split into a smirk. “Warp 4, Mr. Free. Hit it!”

(~~~)

His first shift was smooth sailing for Gavin. The Achievement was set on course for a point of an anomaly in the nearby sector. With little to monitor, the crew on the bridge had time to get to know each other. Gavin made fast acquaintance with Lindsay Tuggey, a communications officer who found his accent and made-up words fascinating. Kdin Jenzen, the Head Science officer, spent a good twenty minutes with him discussing the properties of different objects in space. First Officer, and engineering officer, Jack Patillo didn’t say much, but his constant presence and ability to keep Captain Ramsey occupied was comforting. Gavin found himself liking all the bridge crew, all except for the Head of Security, Blaine Gibson, who honestly scared him.

“But Ray, really! How do we know if we’re upside down or not?”

“Gavin, if you don’t shut up, I'm going to tell Lindsay that you hate cats.”

Gavin quickly shut his mouth and glanced over at the female communications officer, fearing she had heard his friend’s threat. Lindsay had sharp ears and had an even sharper tongue when it came to defending her feline friends.

Luckily, she was oblivious, chatting with an Ensign named Kara. Gavin sighed in relief and gave a slight glare to Ray. “Uncalled for.” He ignored the chuckles from Ray and did another check of the heading. Everything was on course. 

“Gavin! How’s our heading? Do you have an ETA for me?” Captain Ramsey called to him, shifting in his chair.

Gavin did a quick calculation and turned around. “Heading is steady, Captain. We should be arriving at our destination in ten point two minutes.”

Ramsey clapped his hands together. “Awesome. It’s boring as dicks doing nothing around here.” He pressed a button on the edge of his chair and began an announcement. “Attention Achievement, this is Captain Ramsey speaking. We will be arriving at anomaly point Alpha in approximately ten minutes. I want all Alpha shift personnel to their stations to prepare for whatever we may encounter. No alarm, just precaution. Captain, out.”

As they quickly approached the arrival point, Gavin kept his eyes on his display. Something wasn’t quite right. “Uh… Captain… there seems to be a reading coming from the anomaly point.”

Ramsey furrowed his brow and leaned forward. “What is it, lad?”

Gavin swiped his screen and flicked his eyes over the readings and scanner radar. It didn’t make sense. The readings couldn’t be right. “It…it seems to be a planet, Sir.”

The Captain looked confused for a second before cursing. “Shit! Prepare to stop warp Mr. Free.” He slammed his hand onto the intercom button. “All stations prepare for emergency warp drop. I repeat. Prepare for emergency warp drop.” 

The serious look on his Captain’s face made Gavin uneasy. He wasn’t sure how well he could pull off an emergency stop. Simulations were one thing; actually doing it was a whole other planet of skill.

“Ensign, prepare to drop warp in three…”

Oh god oh god oh god oh god!

“…two…”

Gavin’s fingers flew mechanically over his controls as he frantically adjusted the systems to prevent a collapse of the entire ship.

“…one!”

With one fell swipe, the Achievement lurched to a halt. Half of the bridge crew flew from their seats. Gavin and Ray were slammed face first into their consoles as Captain Ramsey toppled to the floor.

As the ship leveled itself out, Gavin worked through the pain in his head to stabilize the Achievement. He shakily wiped away flecks of blood from the radars and sighed loudly once the systems returned to normal. “All systems stabilized, Captain. There seems to be no lasting damage to the navigation or warp.”

Ramsey nodded as he stood up. “Good job, Mr. Free. Excellent work.”

Ray rubbed the rapidly forming bruise on his forehead, but paused when he looked up to the view screen.”Wow. That’s definitely a planet.”

Gavin looked up from the blood pooling in his hand from his nose and gaped. “Bloody hell.”

The anomaly was a planet. A rather large one by the look of it. The Achievement dropped out of warp within orbit of the planet. From their position, the surface seemed to be a mixture of dense vegetation and sprawling deserts. There were bodies of water, but they were tiny. How anyone in Starfleet could have not known about the existence of this planet was beyond Gavin.

Ramsey returned to his chair. “All stations report. Any casualties?”

“Dr. Haywood here, Sir. No casualties in medical. However, there are multiple crewmen entering sickbay with minor injuries.”

A Sigh of relief left the older man. “Thank you doctor.” He glance around the bridge and his eyes landed on Gavin. “Doctor, prepare to receive one crewman from the bridge.”

“Aye, Sir.”

“Gavin, report to sickbay. I don’t need your nose bleeding all over my ship, lad.” His orders were stern, but his voice and face held a gentle understanding.

Gavin nodded and relieved his station to another navigator. “Aye, Captain.”

As he entered the turbo lift, the sight of the new planet made him wonder. How could it have been concealed for all this time? Space really was a magnificent place.  
(~~~)  
Ryan’s face as he recognized just which bridge crewman had been injured mad Gavin chuckle.

“I told you meeting in sickbay was a bad first impression. Glad we got that out of the way beforehand.” He chuckled as Ryan led him to a biobed.  
The CMO rolled his eyes but smiled lightly. “That you did. However, I didn’t expect you to have experience in the matter. Now move your hand.” 

Gavin dropped his hand to allow the doctor to examine his bleeding nose. Ryan grimaced as he held up his tricorder. “Quite a number you did on your nose there.” A quip from the machine signaled it had finished its scan. Ryan nodded appreciatively. “Well, it’s not broken. Just a ruptured blood vessel. Easy fix.”

With a swift movement, Ryan pulled a hypospray from a pouch at his hip and pressed it into Gavin’s neck with a quiet hiss. Gavin yelped and slapped a hand to the injection sight. “OW! Jesus Christ Ryan! What was that?”

“Oh stop being such a baby.” Ryan chided lightly. “It was just to stop you from bleeding all over the place. It should reduce the swelling as well. Now go clean your face up and report back to the bridge.”

Gavin smiled as he hopped off the biobed and made his way out the door. “Thank you, Doctor. Hopefully I won’t be back in here anytime soon!”

Ryan shook his head with a smile. “No, hopefully not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the second chapter. I like it a little bit more than the first. I hope you enjoyed and i'm looking forward to posting the next chapter soon.  
> Live Long and Prosper


	3. This is why we can't have nice things.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This new planet is strange and the inhabitants are even more so. But even in this world, Gavin can't help but find trouble.

When Gavin returned to the bridge, Captain Ramsey was in a heated discussion with his first officer. They were speaking in whispers, so Gavin made his way to his station without any fuss.

Ray glanced at him as he sat down. “Well, you look better. Ryan hypo-ed you, didn’t he?”

Gavin rubbed his neck where the doctor had stuck the hypo. “Yeah. Bloody hurt.” He shivered in his chair. He never liked needles. “Better that, than blood coming out of my nose.”  
Ray opened his mouth to make a smart remark, but was stopped by the voice of the Captain.

“Jenzen! Do you have a report on the surface for me?”

Kdin jumped in his seat at the sudden question. With quick movements, the Lieutenant pulled up readings on his screen. “The atmosphere of the planet seems to be similar to that of Earth. A landing party should have no trouble breathing. However, a more thorough analysis of the planet’s surface would require a closer examination.”

Captain Ramsey smiled and nodded his head. “Perfect. I’ll lead a landing party right away. Ms. Tuggey, please send a message to Starfleet command about our discovery.” He pressed the intercom button on his chair. “Dr. Haywood. Grab the necessary items for a landing party and meet me in the transporter room.”

With a huff, Ramsey stood up and made his way to the turbo lift. “Jack, you’re with me. Gavin, Ray, you two come as well.”  
The two lads shared a surprised look before Gavin voiced his confusion. “Are you sure, Captain?”

Ramsey beckoned them to the turbo lift and they jumped up. “Of course, I need a tactical officer I can trust. And I’d like to begin mapping the surface, which would be in your area of expertise, Mr. Free.”  
Gavin’s excitement from the morning returned full force as he bounced into the turbo lift with Ray right behind him. Navigating a starship, and beaming down to a planet all in one day! Top!

(~~~)

After the odd sensation of his molecules re-assembling stopped, the first thing Gavin realized about the planet was the heat. It wasn’t humid or scorching, but it was rather hot. There was a light breeze, but it did little to keep them cool and Gavin’s uniform began to feel just a tad too clingy.

Ramsey glanced around and took a quick survey. Lieutenant Dooley had beamed them down to what appeared to be the edge of a dense jungle. The jungle’s edge stretched for miles and to their backs was a sprawling desert. It was an odd sight, but there didn’t seem to be any natives around.

With a firm expression, the Captain addressed the landing party. “Alright, listen up. We’re going to stick together, no wondering off. We have no idea how advanced the people of this planet are. We have to make absolutely sure we don’t violate the prime directive. Is that understood?”

A firm “Aye!” from the other men allowed Ramsey to relax slightly. His crew knew what they were doing. “Okay, we’re going to advance into the jungle and see if there’s anything of interest. Ryan, Ray, and Jack, I want you all to have your phasers out and set to stun. Gavin, you’ll be mapping the area we cover correct?”

Gavin nodded and held up the hand-held scanner he had brought. “Yes, sir. However, it isn’t a very fast process, so I can’t assure you we’ll move very quickly.”  
Captain Ramsey nodded. “Understood. Now, let’s get moving. Keep your eyes open for anything.

As they entered the dense brush and slowly made their way through, Gavin scanned the jungle floor as well as the plants within it. He allowed himself to immerse himself in the readings, feeling secure with the other four men on the lookout.

The scanner’s readings were amazing. The plants were nothing like anything Gavin had ever seen. The trees shot up into the sky for ages as thick vines twirled their way around everything. In some areas, vines sprouted flowers of magnificent colors. Pinks, Blues, Oranges, etc. The leaves of some of the fern-like plants were bigger than Gavin was.

As he was scanning another tree, a quick shadow from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He whipped his head around to try and glimpse it, but it was gone. Gavin shrugged it off as a trick of the light, but when he went back to the tree, he saw it again. This time, he managed to catch the tiniest glimpse of a shadow moving behind a tree a little ways away.

Gavin glanced at the rest of the landing party, debating an investigation of the shadow. The Captain had said to stay together, but it was only a few feet. And besides, he would just take a look, grab a scan, and turn right around and be back in two seconds.

Walking away from the others, Gavin tred as lightly as he could, being careful not to make too much noise. If it was a native animal, he didn’t want to scare it away.  
A flicker of movement from behind a tree a few feet ahead pushed him to move more quickly. Yet, as he approached the tree, he slowed to a stop, thinking deeply. What if it was a native to the planet? If he interacted with it, he would be breaking the Prime Directive.

Suddenly, Gavin was unsure. Maybe it would be best to inform the Captain of this before charging headfirst into something he shouldn’t.  
Just as he was resolving to turn back, the sound of something slithering behind him sent shivers up his spine. With a sudden crack, Gavin whirled around to find himself facing a wall of tightly woven vines.

Panic hit him like a truck. “Hey!” he yelled at the wall. However, his voice seemed to be absorbed by the vines. That made the brit panic even more. “Hello!...Ray!...Ryan!...Captain Ramsey! Help! Anybody! Can you hear me?!”

Nothing. The only thing that answered the navigator was silence and the ambiance of the planet. He was separated from his landing party and completely alone.

Distress began to pool in Gavin’s stomach as he attempted to find a way either around the vines or through them. However, his efforts were in vain as the wall went on for quite the distance in both directions and gave no indications of budging under the brit’s pushing.

With a huff, Gavin sank to his knees in front of the vines. His breathing was haggard and sweat coated his body in a thin sheen. A hopeless feeling took hold of him as his mind whirled through ways he could die.

A sudden thought stopped his pity-party. His communicator! Of all the things he could forget he had, how could he have forgotten his communicator? With a victorious shout, he pulled the small device from his pocket and flipped it open. “Ensign Free to Captain Ramsey. Can you hear me, Captain?”

Static silence answered him and his fear began to creep up again. “Captain Ramsey, Come in Captain!” Again, nothing responded. With a frustrated growl, he flipped frequencies to hail the ship.

“Ensign Free to USS-Achievement. Please come in Achievement!” He desperately called into the com. He prayed whatever gods there were that someone would answer him.  
Luck have it, the familiar, if not slightly distorted voice of Lindsay rang through the device’s speaker. “USS-Achievement, this is Lieutenant Tuggey. Gavin, is that you? Are you alright? The landing party reported losing all contact with you.”

Gavin nearly cried in relief at the sound of his crewmate’s voice. “Yes, yes I’m alright.” He assured her. “I’ve been separated from the rest of the party. I can’t reach them via communicator either. Would you be able to tell me their location in aspect to mine?”

“Unfortunately I can’t.” She replied with a hint of worry. “We’ve been able to contact you all, but we have lost all tracking on your signals. We have no idea of your whereabouts on the planet.”

Gavin’s heart fell into his stomach. He really was alone. How was he going to get out of this place if even the ship didn’t know where they were? “Is there anything you can do?”  
Lindsay’s reply was hesitant, but hopeful. “Dooley has engineering working overtime to try and amplify the transporter sensors. Hopefully, with the right tweaking, we’ll be able to lock onto your signals. Can you give me your approximate location from where you lost contact with the landing party?”

Gavin stood up and looked around. “Uh… I was about ten feet or so from them when I was cut off by a wall of vines.” Bloody stupid plants. His past fascination with the vegetation turned quickly to spurn.

“Alright.” Lindsay’s voice echoed. “Just stay where you are. I’ll notify the Captain and hopefully we’ll have you out of there in no time.”  
Gavin sighed. “Thank you Ms.Tugg-EEY!!!”

A sudden violent yank on his ankle sent Gavin crashing to the ground and his communicator flying across the underbrush. Something had a firm grip on his leg and hoisted him into the air, screaming and flailing.

Lindsay’s panicked voice came from the discarded communicator.

“Gavin? Gavin! What’s going on?! Are you a-“

The navigator heard a sickening crunch as the lieutenant’s voice was quickly silenced. He twisted his body around to try and see what exactly had him, he wished that he hadn’t.

The shadow he’d been following earlier wasn’t as small or docile as he’d originally thought. The creature that had him was monstrous and terrifying. It vaguely resembled the bears that lived on Earth, but several distinct features set it apart. The first and most obvious were the thick vine-like tentacles that sprouted from where a bear’s arms and legs would normally be, the ones that were wrapped around his ankles. The second was the quartered muzzle that split like some demented flower, showing a grotesque, dripping mouth and tongue. The last was the fur that covered the creature. It seemed normal enough, brown and drab, however when it shifted a certain way, it glistened in rainbow colors.

Gavin screeched as he took in the sight. Fear wasn’t the right word. Terror might be close. No, what Gavin felt was beyond words. As he screamed, the creature’s muzzle split open wide as it roared back in his face.

It was too much for the poor boy. The blood rushing to his head and the adrenaline flowing through him mixed together and he soon began to lose consciousness. Just before he blacked out completely, a strange primal yell reached his ears. He didn’t have much time to contemplate it however, for a second later, he passed out cold.

(~~~)

Losing consciousness was a strange feeling. One that Gavin decided that he really didn’t enjoy. A dull throb in the back of his head was one of the first things he became aware of as his senses returned. Slowly the feeling returned to the rest of his body, along with a burning around his ankle. He was also parched. His mouth felt dryer than the desert they had landed in.  
The sound of something shifting beside him made him freeze. Anxiety spiked in his stomach as he forced his eyes open with a sharp gasp.  
A pair of light brown eyes stared back at him.

After a stare-down lasting approximately three seconds, Gavin tried to wiggle away from the eyes, attempting to scream, but only managing an odd gurgle. The eyes jerked away as the body they were attached to jumped up into a defensive stance.

Gavin examined his companion and felt confused. Whether it was from his previous unconsciousness, or just his own brain, something was amiss.

The boy, well Gavin assumed it was a boy, stood a few feet from him, arms raised in defensive manner and eyes watching the navigator’s every twitch. His curly red-brown hair sat disheveled on his head and framed his freckled face. His garments were few, but elaborate. His trousers were a dark gold and disappeared into fur leg warmers. A shoulder cloak made of some type of fur draped his torso and his feet were bare. He was rather dirty, but carried himself with an air of grace. And to top off the weirdness, Gavin could see the tips of fangs poking out from the boy’s lips.

Gavin slowly sat himself up, wincing at the pain in his head. While he was wary of this boy, he figured if he meant harm, he would have done it by now.

The boy’s eyes narrowed as he knelt down to pick up a discarded sword Gavin had failed to notice. The blade seemed to be made of some type of blue crystal that glinted in the light. He pointed the tip at Gavin as he slowly approached. He opened his mouth and spoke with a harsh tongue. “ _Vis arsten liem? Van via liem_?”

Well that went right over Gavin’s head. He’d taken multiple xenolinguistics classes at the academy, but none of them taught him anything even close to this language. This must be a native of the planet and Gavin was just lucky enough to have a run in with him. Well, there goes the prime directive.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re saying.” He spoke slowly, but as clearly as he could. He knew there was little chance of him being understood.

The boy’s eyes widened as he lowered the sword, but advance closer to Gavin, putting his face only a few inches from the British boy’s, making the latter rather uncomfortable. When he spoke again, his words were clear, though heavily accented by his own tongue. “You’re one of the people from long ago. You speak this weird language.”

Gavin’s jaw dropped at the boy’s nearly perfect federation standard. Whoa, something wasn’t right here. This planet shouldn’t have any knowledge of the federation, let alone be able to speak its language. “I-I don’t think my language is the weird one, mate.” He stammered as he tried to move his face farther away.

The boy huffed a sort of laugh and backed off. “You creatures are strange. Skinny and funny looking. I doubt you would have made a very good meal for that _vhiva_.” He laughed at Gavin’s indignant face.

“Vi- what? You mean that thing that attacked me back there? What happened to it? And who are you?” Gavin’s voice pitched itself up an octave as he asked these questions. Realization of his current situation hit him suddenly. He was alone with some strange native after almost dying at the hands of some creature.

The boy walked over to where a small bag was laying. “Mogar.” He said as he ruffled through the bag. “I’m called Mogar. And don’t worry, I scared the _vhiva_ off. She won’t be bothering you again. Ah-ha!” He exclaimed as he pulled a small bundle of leaves from the bag.

Gavin watched him nervously as he approached and reached for his ankle. He yanked it back with a jerk, hissing at the pain. “What are you doing? What’s that?” No way in the galaxy was he letting this boy – Mogar- touch him with some magic voodoo or whatever.

Mogar rolled his eyes and undid the bundle, revealing a red paste. “It’s a salve. It’ll help your ankle heal better. _Vhiva_ leave nasty burns with their vines.”

His voice was calm and measured and Gavin relaxed slightly. Okay, so maybe jumping to voodoo was a bit farfetched. Damn, dehydration must be getting to his brain.  
Taking Gavin’s silence for an okay, and swiped some of the paste onto his fingers, which after closer inspection, Gavin noticed had claw-like nails. With a gentle touch, he spread the paste over the angry red mark around Gavin’s ankle. It stung at first, making Gavin hiss, but soon it began to numb and the pain vanished.

Gavin sighed in relief. That was one thing taken care of. “Thank you.” He said. However, his dry mouth felt sticky and his voice cracked over the words. He cleared his throat, but it did little good.

Mogar retied the bundle and placed it back in the bag, and pulled out what looked like a clay bottle with a wooden cork. He popped the cork out and handed the bottle to Gavin. “Here, drink this. It’s water.”  
Gavin didn’t need to be told twice and took a large gulp from the bottle. The water tasted heavily of minerals, but it soothed his throat. He took three long drinks before sighing once more. “Thank you so much. I think I owe you my life.”

Mogar weighed his words as he took the bottle back and replaced the cork. “I didn’t do anything I wouldn’t have done for anyone else.” His voice carried a hint of sadness as he spoke, something that Gavin found odd. “I couldn’t just let you die like that.”

Gavin nodded, suddenly feeling rather dizzy. “Still… I…whoa…” He swayed backwards suddenly.

He expected to hit the ground, but a pair of arms caught him and lowered him down. “You still don’t look very good.” Mogar said as he frowned. “You should sleep some before you try to get up again.”

Gavin frowned as his eyes flickered shut. “I can’t…Need to find…my crewmates.”

A light chuckle from the native boy rumbled beside him. “Idiot. You can’t go anywhere like you are. Just sleep. I’ll stay here and help you find your uh,…crewmates when you wake up… whatever your name is.”

“Gavin,” he breathed as he began to drift. “My name’s Gavin Free.”  
“Gavin.” The name sounded foreign on his tongue, but the chuckle that followed sounded natural. “Go to sleep, Gavin. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

As he finally began to drift into sleep, the young ensign could have sworn that he felt a hand comb through his hair, helping him to quickly fall into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's Michael! Or...Mogar, whatever. I felt rushed in introducing him, but I'm planning on fleshing his character out more. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for more!  
> LLAP


	4. Libraries raised me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew of the Achievement put their trust in Mogar as he leads them to the one place that might hold answers for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in a row, wow, i'm just pumping them out aren't I?  
> By the way, I wish all of the best to one Ray Narvaez Jr. as he pursues his dream. You'll be missed.  
> Now, on with the fic.
> 
> In case you didn't know, i've compiled a playlist of songs for this fic. They're just songs i've pulled inspiration from, but they also hint at events I haven't written yet, so be warned. Here's the link - http://8tracks.com/absoluteschubert/thrusters-on-full

The next time Gavin gained consciousness, it was to the sound of voices.

“Gavin! Come on buddy. Where are you?”

“Answer us!”

“This is your Captain, Mr. Free! I command that you answer me! Right now, young man!”

With a groan, Gavin flicked his eyes open and sat up. A hand on his chest stopped him and he followed the arm up to see Mogar staring off into the dense forest. His stance was defensive.

Gavin looked around. “What's wrong, is it another vi-...vi-...bear thing?”

Mogar shook his head. “More creatures who speak your language. Could be danger.”

Gavin shook his head and pushed Mogar's hand away. “No no! Those are my crew mates! They're looking for me!” He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled to his companions. “I'm over here! Captain! Ray! Ryan! I'm alright!”

“Hey! I heard something over there!”  
“Gavin!'

The sound of multiple people running through the foliage quickly approached. Mogar pulled his sword out and crouched low as Captain Ramsey burst into the small clearing followed by the other three men. They looked almost has dirty and disheveled as Gavin was.A feral growl rumbled in his chest as he fixed them with a fierce glare.

Ramsey looked at him with apprehension but turned his gaze to Gavin as Ray and Jack fixed their phasers on Mogar. “Gavin, are you alright?”

Gavin nodded and attempted to stand. “Yes, sir. I'm alright. Well, as okay as I can be.” He faltered and almost fell, but Mogar caught him and helped him balance. “Thanks.”

Ramsey narrowed his eyes at the native and raised his phaser as well. “Mr. Free, step away from the native, he could be dangerous.”

Gavin looked confused. “What? No he's not he-”

A loud growl from Mogar startled him as the boy continued to glare at the crew. It was obvious he didn't trust them and with a bunch of phasers pointed in his face, Gavin didn't really blame him. Captain Ramsey's distrust was obvious as well. If Gavin didn't step in soon, there would no doubt be bloodshed.

Without really thinking, Gavin stepped in front of Mogar and held his hands up in a defensive manner. “Whoa, stop. These are my crew mates. You said you'd help me find them, remember? That's who they are. Not dangerous.”  
Mogar's gaze flicked between him and the phasers. Slowly, his stance relaxed and he lowered his sword from its raised position. He was still wary, but he no longer looked like he was going to murder them. “Whatever you say, Gavin.”

Ray nearly dropped his phaser. “He can speak standard? What the hell?”

Gavin turned to them. “I don’t really understand either. But as far as I know, he’s not dangerous. He saved my life.”

Ramsey stepped forward, judging Mogar’s reaction, and made his way over to Gavin. Once he was close enough to decide Mogar really wasn’t going to kill them, he gestured for Ryan to come over. “Dr. Haywood, come make sure the kid’s really okay.”

Ryan pulled his tricorder from his belt and passed it over Gavin. “He’s got moderate dehydration and multiple lacerations, but other than that, he’s vitals are all pretty normal.”

What Ryan hadn’t noticed was Mogar creeping around beside him to get a better look at the tricorder. The doctor jumped when he finally noticed and jerked the tricorder to his chest. Mogar’s expression was curious, lacking nearly any of his previous malice. “I’ve seen one of those before. A tree-something right?”

Ryan stared at him incredulously. “Yes, a tricorder. But how can you know that? This planet hasn’t been discovered by the Federation yet. How do you know federation standard?”

Mogar grinned at him. “From the archives.” He walked around the group, no longer very wary as he had figured they’d have shot him by now if they were going to. Ray and Jack held their phasers still, but hesitated in aiming them.

Mogar looked them all over, taking in their appearances and clothing. Gavin was fascinated by his movements. They were fluid, but sure. His footsteps barely made a sound as he slunk around the group, coming to a stop beside Gavin once more. The brit decided he must have felt more comfortable next to him because he was sure Gavin wouldn’t shoot him.

“People like you visited here a long time ago. They didn’t stay long, but they left much behind. In the archives. Many books and tra-…transm-…traaansmiiisssioons.” He slurred the last word as his mouth tried to form the words that were semi foreign to him.

Captain Ramsey looked thoughtful. “Could you take us to these archives?”

Mogar nodded excitedly. “Yes!” He picked up his bag and strung it over his back. He pulled a chord of some sort from around his waist and used it to tie his sword to his back as well. He looked over the group once more. “It is not far. Stay close. There may be more _vhiva_ along the way.”

Gavin shivered at the thought and received a questioning glance from Ray. “Long story.” He mouths in return. One he’d tell them back on the ship. For now, Captain Ramsey had decided that there might be a way to signal the ship from this ‘archives’ place.  
(~~~)

Mogar was right when he said it wasn’t far. The group had been walking for maybe ten minutes when the jungle began to thin into tropical grasslands. Beyond the, not too far in the distance, a building stood shining in the planet’s hot sun, the metal and glass out of place in the wilderness of the planet.

“Jesus Christ.” Ramsey breathed as they approached the building. “The federation has been here before.”

The building was honestly a wreck. Most of the windows were busted and the front doors hung off their hinges. From their perspectives, they could see rows of bookshelves and computers inside.

Mogar hoped through one of the windows, turning to watch the rest of them scramble through. “This is the archives. Your people left it here when they left and never came back.”

Gavin ran his hands over the rows of books, coughing slightly at the dust. “This is how you learned standard? Just from this?”

Mogar nodded and perched himself on a rickety table. “Many of us have. Some don’t though. They think this language is barbaric and…uh….bad.” He said, unable to find the word he was trying to convey.

Ramsey nodded. His eyes swept the abandoned space and fell on what seemed to be an old communication panel. “Ah-ha!”

Jack followed behind him as he walked over to it. “You don’t actually think it can still work? This model has been obsolete for decades.”

The Captain scoffed and yanked a panel off of the front. “These things are fucking sturdy as dicks.” He said as he messed around with wires. “They were made with a fail-safe start-up.”

With a jolt, the panel glowed to life. The other four men joined the captain and first officer, Gavin was amazed. “Bloody hell, it still works.”

Ramsey smirked in triumph and began to sift through the panel’s memory banks. “Just ‘cause it’s old, don’t mean it don’t work. Now, the previous operators should have left something behind. I don’t believe they would have left this with no notification to Starfleet. There!”

A ding sounded from the panel and a holo-screen popped up. The video file was fuzzy with time, but the face of a Starfleet officer soon appeared, her face nervous and eyes wide.  
“Please who ev-*zzz*-is, we’re no longer saf-*zzz*-Morylonians-*zzz*-ey’re a very violent race. We’ve tried to help them as best we can bu-*zzz*- can’t help them if they won’t let us. We plan to leave tomorrow morning for a federation out-*zzz*-od speed to you. Be safe.”

Once the transmission cut out, five pairs of eyes shifted to Mogar, who suddenly looked abashed.

Gavin could almost feel Captain Ramsey’s anger growing, so he stepped forward, hoping to get a conversation started without harsh words being thrown. “Mogar, why don’t you tell us what happened here?” He spoke gently as he hoisted himself onto the table next to the native boy, grasping onto it for dear life as it wobbled.

Mogar sighed. “It happened a very long time ago…”

(Mogar’s Narrative)

We were told stories of strange aliens when we were young. Well, they weren’t really stories, as much as they were part of our history lessons. The tales of the travelers who brought both knowledge and foolishness.  
My people are a violent race, it’s true. We pride ourselves on our battle scars and the blood under our nails. From the time we can walk we are taught how to fight. We fight our first battle at a mere three years old.

It’s the way it has always been. No one ever questioned our ways, not until your people came.

Our species’ meeting was an accident. It broke some important rule of theirs, but there wasn’t much to be done about it. So, they observed us and decided to help us change.  
Naturally, their efforts were met with resistance. Our ways were perfect. We had no need to change because some outsider aliens told us to.

But soon, there were those who did change. They came to them-the humans-and learned their language. They were taught basic cultures and histories of your home planet. They began to see our traditions and ways in a different light, and they no longer liked what they saw.

Of course, there were those who kept the old ways, the ones who rejected the aliens’ language. They rose up in rebellion. Before long, our society was broken in half.

The humans were no longer safe. Some of my people defended them with their lives, but it did little good. The humans fled our planet in fear.

I don’t know the fate of those people, and I’m truly sorry. But, I do know that their knowledge and language continued to be taught and practiced. Now, it is part of our school lessons.

My mother taught me the basics of your language. However, my father, like his family before him, was against anything to do with your ways. His anger pushed me to learn more. Our elder showed me this place, the archives, and I taught myself. I learned your language better than almost anyone here. I’ve studied those strange transmissions. I’ve seen the brutal nature of my own people for what it is.

And I no longer feel like I belong here.

(End Narrative)

Silence followed Mogar’s words and Gavin swallowed thickly. He didn’t know whether to cry or hug the downtrodden boy beside him. It seemed that it took all Mogar had to tell them that. He had looked so sincere when he had expressed his apology for not knowing the fate of the Starfleet officers.

With a hesitant movement, Gavin placed his hand on Mogar’s shoulder. “Thank you for tell us that.” He smiled.

Mogar looked at him with surprised eyes. After a moment he nodded slowly and leaned into Gavin’s touch slightly.

Captain Ramsey’s anger had dissipated, and he looked at Mogar with gentle thoughtfulness. “I take it your father wasn’t too happy that you delved so deep into our knowledge. Am I right?”  
Mogar flinched, but nodded. “Yes. He was livid. He…he disowned me and forbid my _Brar_ from ever seeing me again.”  
“Brar?” Gavin asked, the word feeling weird in his mouth.

Mogar chuckled lightly at his accent. “Your word would be brother, I believe. He and I have different _Makti_ , er, mothers. My mother died a few years ago in a spontaneous battle, just a few days after I was banished.”

The sad look in his eyes deepened and tears brimmed in his eyes.

Captain Ramsey’s heart ached at the sight. The thought of his own daughter flashed in his head. With a sigh, he placed a hand on Mogar’s head and ruffled his hair. “Don’t you worry lad. I might not have a total grasp on the situation, but I can tell you right now, we’ll make sure you have a place you belong.”

Mogar gaped up at him. “What? But, how? It is not safe for you here.” Suddenly his face twisted in rage and he shook off Ramsey’s hand. “I’m not helpless! I don’t need someone to fight for me!”

Ramsey held his hands up. “Whoa, buddy. I wasn’t suggesting that. I’m simply extending an offer of help and peace between you and me and my crew. I can already see that Gavin’s taken a liking to you.”

Gavin squawked in response, but huffed and folded his arms as Jack, Ray, and Ryan laughed.

Mogar looked over them and just stared. A small smile graced his lips.

Maybe. Just maybe, he could belong somewhere. Somewhere like this.


	5. Which Path Do You Choose?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There always seems to be that calm before a storm. Why should this time be any different? Our boys reflect on the past events and look toward the future to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad pumping out updates like this because i'm nervous that i'll get super busy and you all will be like "WHERE"S THE UPDATE?" And i'll be crying in a corner saying "I'm so sorry my babies, it's coming, I promise."  
> None the less, enjoy.  
> ALSO, If any of you think you'd like to beta this story, please don't hesitate to ask. It is currently un-beta-ed, but i'm tryin my best.  
> Enjoy.

Gavin nursed a bottle of water as he stared out of the window of one of the viewing rooms aboard the Achievement. His hair was still damp from the shower he had taken moments before and his uniform was fresh out of his closet. The object of his staring was the planet they had just returned from- _Morlyon_.

Captain Ramsey had been able to signal the Achievement from one of the control panels in the Archives. It turned out that the trees in the jungle had been jamming the sensors of the Achievement. The clear plains around the Archives had allowed for the landing party to be beamed back to the ship.

Mogar was hesitant to see them leave. “I…understand your reasons for leaving. But, will you be coming back?” He eyed them all, but his gaze came to rest on Gavin, and the question seemed directed at him.  
Gavin glanced to his Captain, transferring the question with his eyes. Captain Ramsey nodded. “You bet your ass we will be. I know that the people left here a long time ago, but I’m not going to give up the chance to create a new connection between your planet and the federation.”

Gavin nodded and smiled at Mogar. The action seemed to pacify the wild boy and he gave a small smile in return. “Okay. I’ll be here when you return. I rarely leave.”  
His eyes were the last thing Gavin saw before the feeling of be transported overtook him.

“Hey man, what’re you doing over here?”

Ray’s voice broke Gavin from his trance as the tactical officer sat down. His hair was also damp and his clothing, clean. The entire landing party had been treated for dehydration and given a shift off to re-orient themselves.

Gavin shrugged and took a sip from his water. “Just thinking about today. This planet is bloody amazing, even from up here.”  
Ray nodded and looked out at the planet as well. “It really is. And to think, we get to re-establish peace with these people. I mean…Yolo right?”  
Gavin snorted a laugh. “Ray, no one’s used that saying since the 21st century. But, besides that, I’m not so sure about peace.”

“What?” Ray frowned.” You’re kidding. Why not?”

Gavin shifted in his seat, turning fully from the window and resting his elbows on the table they sat at. “It just…the way Mogar talked about his people. Even he thought they were violent and he fought of this giant bear creature that was going to eat me. Oh it was terrifying Ray. Made me faint like a little spaff. But if they’re even more aggressive than Mogar, I highly doubt they’ll want to listen to us.”

Ray was silent for a moment, thinking over the words in his head. “Maybe…you know, Mogar seemed really drawn to you.” He smirked at Gavin, but his words still held seriousness to them.  
Gavin rolled his eyes. “That’s probably because I’m one of the first people to not attack him in a while? From what he said, the poor lad hasn’t had much friendly contact in a while. I mean his own father disowned him.”

Ray nodded. “Sure, whatever you say. Hey, can you show me some of the readings you got from the planet?”  
Gavin smiled excitedly. “Hell yeah, I can! Come on, I’ve got the files on my PADD in my room.”

(~~~)

Captain Ramsey paced the meeting room. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back and his brow creased in thought.

Jack, who sat at the table in the middle of the room, sighed. “Geoff, if you keep pacing like though, you’re going to wear a whole in the floor.”

The captain sighed and ran his hands down his face. “I don’t know what to do, Jack. Starfleet has given over this whole operation to me because they know it’s risky and they don’t want anyone else involved if it goes south.” An aggravated huff left him as he plopped down in a chair. “They just put me on the brink of war.”

Jack shook his head, his sympathy towards his captain obvious in his voice. “We’ll just have to do what we can. No one is expecting you to play God here.”

“Except Starfleet Command.” Geoff scoffed with a scowl.

The captain’s pessimism was nothing new to Jack. It was no secret that there was tension between the Captain and High Command. However, there seemed to be more to his friend’s mood than some pricks up in High Command. “I get it, I get it. You’d love to see Admiral Sorola’s underwear run up a flagpole, but there’s something else going on isn’t there?”

Geoff flicked his eyes up from the table top. With a tremendous sigh he ran a hand through his hair. “It’s that Mogar kid. I can’t quite bring myself to quite trust him.”

Well that surprised Jack a bit. “He helped us out a lot when we were stuck down on that planet. He seems attached to Free as well.”

Geoff scowled and lightly hit the table with his fist. “That’s another thing. I don’t like him getting too close to Gavin. I realize I’ve only known the kid for a day or so, but I’ve seen him interacting with the rest of the crew. He’s a very trusting person, but he’s also rather naïve. It’d be all too easy for Mogar to take advantage of the trust the kid has put in him.”

As he thought it over, Jack had to admit the captain had a point. “I see what you’re saying. I guess we’ll just have to keep our eyes open. For the time being, maybe we can use that closeness of his to our advantage.”

Geoff was about to respond when a whistle from the com on the wall interrupted him. He stood and pressed the receiver. “Ramsey here.”

“Captain,” Lindsay’s voice cut through the speaker. “Admiral Burns of Starfleet Command is on channel three for you.”

Geoff sighed. “Thank you Lieutenant. Captain, out.”

Jack slid over to the monitor attached to the table and swiped a few commands. Soon, the face of Admiral Burns appeared. “Hello, gentlemen.”

Geoff smiled and returned to his seat. “Greetings, Admiral. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Same here, Geoff. I’m actually calling on behalf of the request you sent in. It turns out there is some information on the lost Morlyon crew after all. It was buried rather deep in Starfleet records, but I managed to pull some strings and get it to you. I’ve sent the files to your communications officer.”

Geoff laughed loudly, his face broken by a huge smile. “Ah Burnie, you beautiful bastard! How can we thank you for this? This could give us just what we need to make peace here!”

The Admiral shook his head. “Think nothing of it. I call it merely a favor for an old friend. Plus, any time I can pull one over on Sorola, I take it as a personal honor. Now go and make the federation proud. Admiral out.”

(~~~)

With the departure of his new friends, Mogar found the Archives to be a rather empty place. Maybe he could find something new to learn while he waited for the humans to return, perhaps brush up on their customs.

Three searches and five books later, the boredom was setting in. If he read one more page about how to properly address someone, Mogar thought he would go mental. So, he closed the book and returned it to its spot on the shelf.

It was useless. All he could think about was the humans. It was kind of ridiculous. But he couldn’t help it. For years he’d wondered who these people were and what their species was like.

When he saw the _vhiva_ about to devour Gavin, it was like all his dreaming had become a reality. Okay, so maybe not the whole being eaten part, but still. It took almost no thought to jump in and free the man from the clutches of the beast.

After the _vhiva_ had run off, the cowardly creature, Mogar noticed that the human boy had fainted. At least he hoped he had just fainted. Humans were said to be rather fragile creatures, so he hoped that the little skirmish hadn’t killed him.

Gavin’s breathing and heartbeat assured him that the boy was indeed alive, so he set to work trying to make him comfortable. It was a while before he regained consciousness and it allowed Mogar ample time to take in his appearance.

The visible differences between his race and the humans seemed to be few. Their fingers lacked the tough claws and their teeth were oddly blunt, but other than that, they seemed rather similar from what he could see.

Their interactions when the human awoke went better than Mogar imagined. Gavin didn’t seem to have any intent to hurt or attack him, in truth it was quite the opposite. He was apprehensive, but curious.

As he began to drift off again, Gavin looked to be in pain. Mogar attempted to drag out anything he could recall on human comfort and settled for comforting touch. He tentatively ran his fingers through the human’s hair, marveling in the softness of it. He continued as he saw Gavin’s feature relax and he drifted off to sleep.

Mogar smiled to himself as he recalled the encounter. It was nice to actually talk to someone. Sure, he spoke to the elder sometimes, but it was a rare experience. It was also nice to not be looked at like he was less than the dirt he walked on.

Suddenly, a faint sound of shouting reached the young man’s ears and he froze in place. The harsh tongue of his native language pierced the air and filled his stomach with fear.  
With graceful ease, Mogar dropped to a low crouch and made his way along the floor of the Archives. He ducked underneath one of the few windows that were still intact and rubbed a circle through the dust that was layered on it.

Off in the distance, he could see the familiar garments of a Hunter party. They stalked swiftly across the grasslands, clearly on a mission. And he had an idea of just what.  
As they bounded past the building, Mogar ducked his head and flattened himself against the wall. Most of them passed without giving the building a single glance, but when he was almost sure they had all gone, the sound of creeping footsteps made him hold his breath.

A single Hunter prowled by the Archives with slow, but sure movements. Her breathing was even and balanced as she looked in the windows, her eyes scanning the rows of books and consoles.

Mogar, painstakingly slowly, raised his hand to grasp the hilt of his sword, mentally preparing himself to fight.

Just as he was about to jump up, the sharp bark of the Lead Hunter made the Hunter by the window twist her head. With a growl she bounded after the rest of the party.  
Once all sound of the party had faded, Mogar released his breath and slid to the floor. The rush of fear and adrenaline began to leave him and he sat, shaking slightly, trying to regain his composure.

The Hunters were ruthless. They would kill any and all in the way of their mission. Including the humans. Especially the humans. Images of death filled his mind. Spears and blades piercing the human’s flesh. Claws tearing, people screaming. Gavin’s eyes filled with fear.

Anger replaced fear. The very thought of them touching any of his new acquaintances induced rage in the wild boy. They wouldn’t, Mogar would make sure of that.

He would swear it on his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it.  
> Some insight into the minds of different characters.  
> See you next time!  
> LLAP


	6. Getting to Know You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Ray spend some time with Mogar as they learn more about the planet. However, it seems like they aren't quite alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of my thanks to my beta, smthelj. They have been a lifesaver!  
> I do apologize for taking so long to update. School and writer's block are the bane of my existence.  
> In any case, here's chapter 6. Enjoy!

“Captain, are you sure it's a good idea for me to go down there by myself?” Gavin asked in apprehension.

“Of course!” Captain Ramsey answered. “Besides, you won't be alone. Narvaez is going with you. I think you'll be fine with him.”

Gavin nodded, still a bit unsure, but trusting in his Captain's confidence. “Yes, sir. I'll collect as many readings as I can and report back to the Achievement.”

Ramsey slapped his back. “You got it, buddy. Now be safe and I'll see you when you get back.” He pushed the Brit toward the transporter pad where Ray was already waiting. He motioned to Lieutenant Dooley, who stood at the transporter controls. “Whenever you're ready, Lt. Dooley.”

Gavin held his breath as the transportation process began. It was always a strange feeling to have your molecules pulled apart, but it was also kind of exciting. The feeling of being pulled in every direction at once was definitely unique.

As he came back together and his sight returned, Gavin saw that they had been transported a few yards from the Archives. He looked around and saw Ray beside him, phaser already held tightly in his grasp as his eyes scanned the area for threats.

Neither moved for a few seconds.

Eventually, Ray nodded and stepped toward Gavin. “I think we're fine. Let's find Mogar.”

Gavin hummed his affirmative and headed for the building. “He said he'd probably be here when we got back. Let's hope he is because I really don't want to go wandering around and get lost again. Who knows what else on this planet wants to eat us.”

“More things than you'd think.”

A voice made Ray and Gavin look around rapidly, hands flying to their phasers.

Without a warning, Mogar dropped in front of them, seemingly falling from the sky.

Now, being as startled as he was, Gavin would admit to making a small noise of shock when the native boy appeared. However, he did not scream like a girl, as Ray would viciously lie about later. Nope, that definitely did not happen.

After Ray stopped laughing and Gavin had assured Mogar that he was fine, the Brit questioned him as they walked into the Archives. “Where the bloody hell did you come from?”

Mogar shrugged. “The roof,” he replied nonchalantly. “I was watching a flock of _linien_ cross the plains a few… meters away.”

Ray nodded his head, but had a confused look on his face. “Interesting… what’s a _linien_?”

A chuckle answered him as Mogar moved to sit on a desk. “They are flying creatures with long beaks. Their backs are hard as rock and they have a deafening screech.” He finished his description with a bright smile. Ray assumed that Mogar might not be aware of how terrifying these things sounded.

Apparently neither did Gavin, because his eyes lit up at the thought. “Wow! That sounds amazing. It’d be nice to get a scan of one. However, I quite like my ability to hear, so I’m going to pass on that. Speaking of scans,” He pulled a slightly modified tricorder from his belt. “Do you think you could show us around a bit? I’d really like to collect some data.”

Mogar hesitated answering and pursed his lips. In all honesty he very much wanted to show the young man around. The strange urge to show off his home world to an outsider had popped into his head. However, his thoughts drifted to the Hunters that had passed by not too long ago and his eagerness to go dropped.

“I… do not think that would be the best idea at the moment, there may still be danger nearby,” he said as he shifted his eyes from Gavin.

It didn’t help, because he could still see Gavin’s face out of the corner of his eye when it fell in disappointment. Ouch, that hurt. Okay, if he could quickly think of something that would pacify them…

“But, if you’d like, I can tell you almost anything you’d want to know. We can have a, as you humans say, Question and Answer session.”

Gavin smiled, though still slightly disappointed. “Alright. I think I have a good place to start.”

Ray, sensing that he was about to become extremely bored, retrieved his mini-PADD from his pocket and went to find a place to get comfortable. “If you guys need me, I’ll be trying to beat the next gym leader.”

(~~~)

Hours passed as Gavin asked question after question, and Mogar was all too happy to give the most detailed of answers in return. They discussed the terrain, the vegetation, the fauna, and even some of Mogar’s culture and mythology. Ray would listen in every so often, but would become bored and revert back to his games.

Soon, Mogar took an interest in Ray’s game. The technology left behind by the late Starfleet officers didn’t contain any games, so the idea was a novelty.

However, they soon learned that the boy had quite a temper and was easily frustrated. Halfway through the first level of some puzzle game Ray had given to him, Mogar was screaming at the min-PADD in his harsh native tongue, though the other two lads didn’t have to think too hard about the translation.

Gavin had taken it upon himself to discretely record a short video of Mogar’s antics on his own PADD and saved it to show the rest of the crew.

Eventually, Mogar snapped and hurled the offending technology out of one of the still intact windows, effectively shattering it and sending the PADD a good ten meters across the plains. Ray and Gavin, who had been laughing to themselves, snapped their mouths close and stared after the poor thing in shock.

They turned to look at Mogar, who was still fuming, but had a slightly embarrassed look on his face. “I, uh… apologize. I seem to have lost my temper at that infuriating game.” He hissed the word ‘infuriating’ and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

Gavin bit his lip and slapped a hand over his mouth, trying his hardest not to burst out laughing. Ray just continued to stare past the shattered window with a look of awe. “Man, how hard did you throw that thing? Did you launch it into space?”

Okay, that did it. Gavin sputtered as he laughed. He clutched his sides and leaned against a bookshelf to keep him balanced. “Oh my god! Hahahaha! That’s the best thing I think I’ve ever seen! Holy shit, is the PADD okay?”

The thought that he might have just broken Ray’s possession dawned on Mogar and he looked mortified. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break it.”

Ray waved a hand at him in dismissal. “It’s fine, man. PADDs are pretty durable. I think it’ll be okay… after we find it.”

Gavin walked over to the window and peered out. A few meters away, he spotted a small black object in the grass. “It’s over there.” He said as he pointed to it. “Let’s go get it.”

Mogar tensed his posture and called to Gavin as he headed for the doorway. “Wait!”

Gavin stopped and turned around, confusion evident on his face. “What? It’s just right there. It won’t hurt if I go grab it, will it?”

Not a single excuse came to Mogar, so he sighed in frustration and walked to the doorway. “At least let me go first so you don’t accidentally get eaten, moron.” He moved to the edge of the doorway and focused his eyes and ears on the plains and surrounding area. While he doubted the Hunter party was still around, it could be possible. If there was any sign of them, he’d forbid the humans to leave.

However, there were none. No sight of anything that could indicate danger and the only sounds came from the natural ambiance and calls of the wildlife.

With a nod he motioned for Gavin and Ray to follow him. “Just stay close, okay?” He led them forward, easily spotting the missing PADD without really trying. The two behind him followed closely as he had said, but their eyes strayed around, looking for any danger. Mogar mentally scoffed at the thought. He highly doubted they’d be able to detect a wondering _vhiva_ , let alone the Hunters.

They stopped and Ray stooped down to pick up the PADD. He wiped some dirt and grass from it, but shrugged. “It still works. I told you these things were durable.”

Mogar nodded and smiled in relief, glad he hadn’t broken the device. He turned to look at Gavin and found him kneeling in the grass, scanning bits of sediment and rocks. His face was practically glowing in excitement and wonder.

Ray must’ve noticed it as well. “Hey, I can hold down the fort at the Archives if you want to go get some scans now.” He said with a slightly bored tone.

Gavin smiled up at them like a child who had just been told they were going to Disney World. “Can we?”

Mogar sighed. “Fine. But we aren’t leaving sight of the Archives. Clear?”

Gavin jumped up and nodded quickly, simply excited to learn more about the strange planet they had found.

Ray popped his lips and pointed his fingers at them in a sort of “cool guy” gesture. “Rad. Behave, kids.” And with that, he turned and made his way back to the building.

Mogar watched him the whole way to make sure he got there safely. Once Ray was inside, he turned to Gavin, panicking for a second when the British man wasn’t right beside him. He relaxed when he saw him already scanning a nearby tree. Frustration replaced worry as the warrior marched over. “Gavin! Don’t wander off! Do you not remember what happened last time?”

Gavin glanced at him. He could easily just apologize and everything would be good, but then again, he could also be a cheeky little shit. So, he chose the latter.

With a smirk, he turned around. “Of course I do! I met a lovely little alien named Mogar.”

Mogar stared at him and sputtered, attempting to find a response. When none came to him in Gavin’s language, he huffed indignantly and muttered something in Morylonian before calling Gavin an asshole.

That made Gavin laugh. “I didn’t know you knew curse words. That’s funny.”

Mogar rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Human expletives are rather tame compared to those of my own language. However, you wouldn’t understand them, so this seems to be the only way to get into your thick skull.” He ignored Gavin’s squawk of protest and continued. “In any case, since you’re the ones who came from space, wouldn’t that make you the alien?”

Gavin opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. Technically, Mogar was right, and judging by the smirk Gavin was receiving, he knew it too.

He snapped his mouth shut and turned back to the tree with a frown as Mogar laughed. “Shut up.”

A beeping from his tricorder made Gavin pause. Apparently the internal memory was full. Bollocks, that couldn’t be right. It was new memory chip and he had only taken a few readings. Unless, he had brought the wrong one by mistake. Oh Well, he could always transmit the readings straight to the Achievement; however it would take a bit longer.

Gavin pulled his new communicator from his belt, given to replace the one the _vhiva_ destroyed, and flicked it open before speaking into it. “Free to Achievement.”

“Achievement, Lt. Tuggey here. What’s up, Gavin?”

“The memory’s full on my tricorder. Can you tell Kdin to be ready to receive my readings manually?” Gavin smiled as Mogar watched him intently and stared at the communicator with interest.

“Alright,” Lindsay said. “Kdin is on standby and ready to receive transmissions. Good luck! Achievement, out.”

Gavin snapped the communicator shut and set his tricorder to transmit. After it had started he set it against the tree and turned to Mogar. “That thing is going to take a while. I guess we chat or something till it’s done.”

Mogar hummed in response and sat down in the grass, Gavin following his movement and sitting as well. “What do you want to talk about? We’ve already discussed quite a lot. What else do you want to know?”

“Tell me about your mother.”

Mogar tensed and eyed Gavin suspiciously. “Why?” He asked with a snap in his voice.

The Brit shrugged. ”When you told us about her before, you looked really sad. You must’ve cared about her a lot.”

There was a stretch of silence as Mogar looked away from Gavin. Neither moved or spoke, so Gavin assumed the native man wasn’t going to answer and prepared to apologize for being too intrusive, but he was surprised when he did get an answer.

“She deserved far more than what she had. She was beautiful and an amazing warrior.” His eyes were distant as he spoke, but a small chuckle left his mouth. “I always said she could have beaten my father in battle if she had wanted to. She would laugh when I said that and tell me I was silly.”

He slid his brown eyes over to meet Gavin’s. “She would have liked you.” He smiled a small smile as he spoke. “She was always fascinated by your people, but I think she would have liked you personally.”

Gavin hummed and raised his eyebrows. “Why do you think that?”

Mogar thought for a second. “Well… because I like you. She would always tell me that I was a good judge of character. She liked all of my friends. Well, the few I had, anyway.”

Gavin’s surprised look shifted to one of bright joy. With a swift movement that startled Mogar, Gavin pulled him into his arms. “Aw! I like you too. I think we’ll be great friends in no time, yeah?”

Mogar pushed back the instinct to fight. He didn’t want to think about accidentally hurting his new friend because he couldn’t control his own reflexes. In truth, he was confused at the action, but he quickly remembered that it was called a hug and humans used it to show affection. He eventually relaxed after a breath or two and attempted to return the hug the best he could. It was difficult though, seeing how they were both still on the ground and Gavin had pulled him into an odd position.

“Uh, Gavin. As much as I would like to return your hug, I cannot seem to move my arms right now.”

Gavin laughed as he let go and stood up. “Sorry, mate. I didn’t mean to jump you like that. Acting like a bloody primary school kid.”

Mogar smiled and shook his head as he stood up as well. “It’s fine. I don’t mind, honestly. In fa-”  
With a sharp gasp, he cut his sentence off and jerked his head around to the right.

Gavin jumped slightly and looked between Mogar and the direction he was staring in. “What? What’s wrong? ...Mogar?”

In a flash, Mogar tackled Gavin to the ground and pressed them both as flat against the ground as he could. “Get down!” He hissed. “Don’t move.”

Gavin froze, only his eyes moving as they darted around, looking for whatever had set the other man off.

Mogar listened for the sound, praying that he had misheard and there was nothing really out there. But to his dismay he heard it again. The cry of a Hunter.

“Hunters.” He whispered to Gavin. “Elite warriors who serve the king. They’d kill you without even a second glance. Their hearing and sight are far better than most warriors, and they’d kill you before you ever knew they were there.”

Gavin gasped and flicked his eyes towards the Archives. “Ray!”

Dread pooled in Mogar’s stomach. The other human would have no idea what danger he was in. He was a sitting duck.

Making a decision, Mogar grabbed Gavin’s face, careful not to scratch him, and forced him to make eye contact. “Listen to me.” He hissed quietly. “Stay here. Do not move, no matter what. Wait for me to come back. Do. Not. Move. Do you understand, Gavin?”

Gavin nodded, his eyes giving nothing away but complete understanding and agreement.

Satisfied with his response, Mogar jumped up and sprinted back to the building.

Adrenaline pushed him forward and he skidded to a stop inside the front doorway of the Archives. Ray was nowhere to be seen, but the sound of some game told him exactly where he was.

As he turned a corner, ready to tackle Ray and actually break his stupid PADD this time, Mogar froze.

Ray was absorbed in some game again, blissfully unaware of the Hunter that was poised behind him with a short dagger, ready to kill. He had to be warned.

Having no time to think, Mogar drew his sword, letting his warrior upbringing take over and bared his teeth.

Ray would never forget the sound or the fear that gripped him as Mogar roared and charged at the Hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the next chapter will be up in no time. Thank you for reading!
> 
> LLAP


	7. Some Rise by Sin and Some by Virtue Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the fight, Mogar reveals more of his past. At the same time, Gavin begins to discover just how far apart they really are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is that an update? SURPRISE! Finals are a hoot and I only occasionally feel like stepping in front of traffic. But, I digress.  
> Once again, so many thanks to my beta, smthelj. They keep me sane with this thing.
> 
> ALSO, they have posted some art of this story on their blog. It's amazing and you should all go support their blog-
> 
> http://cantandraws.tumblr.com/

Okay, so perhaps charging almost blindly at a Hunter wasn’t Mogar’s best idea. Not that he had any doubt in his abilities; no, he was certain he could take the other just fine. It was just that he also had to focus on keeping Ray out of harm’s way. Splitting his concentration greatly hindered his ability to fend off oncoming attacks very well.

The Hunter was vicious. He had spun around with wide eyes at Mogar’s roar, but quickly composed himself and struck back.

It was obvious he recognized Mogar. The curses and calls of “traitor” and “outsider” would confirm that.

The two fought for a good while. However, as he quickly looked to make sure Ray wasn’t too close, Mogar made the split second mistake of ignoring his opponent.  
The Hunter lunged forward and swiped his dagger across Mogar’s chest.

Mogar screamed in pain, and swiftly delivered a staggering kick to the Hunter’s side, effectively sending him tumbling across the floor and into a bookshelf. The force of his impact knocked a few books loose and they crashed down onto his head, leaving him dazed.

Mogar touched his hand to his wounded chest, hissing at the pain and feeling of blood dripping down his torso. It wasn’t as deep as it could have been, but it did hurt like a bitch. No doubt it would take a while to heal as well.

Anger boiled up in Mogar’s veins as he approached the fallen Hunter. He glared down at him and pressed the tip of his sword against the other’s chest. In truth, all of his instincts told him to end the Hunter’s life right there. It was what any warrior would do.

Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. His anger slowly began to simmer down into aggravation and annoyance.

“ _Leave_.” He commanded in his native tongue. “ _If you ever come back or try to harm any of the humans again, I will kill you_.”

The Hunter looked from the sword up to Mogar’s face, his eyes full of confusion. “ _Why do you hesitate? Has your time in exile made you weak, oh Warrior Prince_?” He spat the last words with venom as he scowled.

Now, Mogar’s patience had run thin and with a quick flick of his wrist, he slashed a line across the Hunter’s chest, almost mimicking his own wound. “ _You try my patience. Leave, or I will make sure your body rots where it lies_.”

The Hunter stared at him defiantly for what felt like forever, barely twitching at the now bleeding wound. Eventually, he lowered his eyes, admitting defeat.

Mogar watched his every move as he stood and stalked from the building. As soon as he was outside, the Hunter took off in a sprint and disappeared into the dense jungle.

Ray, who had jammed himself underneath one of the tables, stood from his hiding place shakily. “Holy shit, Gavin wasn’t kidding. You’re terrifying.”

Mogar looked him over, assuring himself that the human wasn’t hurt. “I guess so. Are you alright? He did not hurt you, did he?”

Ray huffed an incredulous laugh and gestured to Mogar’s chest. “Me? You’re the one who looks like they had a run-in with Freddy Krueger.”

Mogar screwed his face up in confusion. “I… do not understand.”

Of course he didn’t. Ray felt stupid for saying anything, but brushed it off quickly. “Never mind, man. Look, where’s Gavin?”

The native man’s eyes widened as he remembered where he had left the poor Brit. Without a word, he turned and ran out of the Archives, ignoring Ray’s calls behind him.

Gavin, who had obediently been lying in the grass, not moving a muscle, tensed as he heard feet approaching in a run. However, he relaxed when he realized it was Mogar, who dropped down to kneel next to him, looking him over for any injuries. “Are they gone? Is Ray okay?”

Mogar nodded, relieved that nothing had happened to his friend. “Yes, I managed to chase him away. Did you see or hear anything else after I left?”

Gavin shook his head as he sat up. “No, it was quiet- bloody hell! What happened to you?!” His face filled with worry as he took in the cut on Mogar’s chest.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not! Christ almighty! Hold on.” With a shaky hand, Gavin flipped open his communicator. “Free to Achievement. Emergency transmission.”

“Achievement, Captain Ramsey here. What’s wrong, Gavin? What happened?” The Captain’s voice cracked with worry.

“There was an incident with one of the natives of the planet. Both I and Narvaez are relatively unharmed…” he paused and looked to Mogar to confirm that Ray was actually okay. He continued when Mogar nodded. “However, Mogar isn’t in the best condition.”

Mogar growled. “I said I am fine!”

“You’ve got a bleeding gash in your chest, you crazy bastard!” Gavin yelled with a glare, and then winced as he realized he was still communication with Ramsey. “My apologies, Captain. Do you think you could send a medic down?”

“Of course. I’ll send Dr. Haywood right away. Make sure you and Narvaez make reports on the incident when you return to the ship. Stay safe, Free. Achievement out.”

Gavin sighed and closed his communicator, turning to his new friend. He had to bite his lip to keep from smiling. The boy looked like a sulking child with a pout that Gavin found adorable.

“I’m fine. Or, I will be soon. I’ve had worse wounds in battle.” Mogar said as he stood and helped Gavin to his feet as well.

The Brit eyed him warily, still worried that he was putting up a front in order to seem stronger than he was and hide any weakness. “It still bloody hurts though, doesn’t it?”

Mogar’s brows furrowed together in a thoughtful look. “You say that so often, ‘bloody’, yet this is the only time you have said it where there has been blood. I do not understand.”

The statement gave Gavin pause. He’d never really noticed how often he actually used the term, but now that he thought about it, it must seem very odd to Mogar. The self-taught native must not have learned much about slang from Britain.

However, Gavin was also distracted by Mogar’s face. The thoughtful frown he wore gave a glimpse of his pointed fangs, and the small wrinkle of his nose drew Gavin’s attention to the numerous freckles that spotted his face. He wondered if they covered the rest of his body as well.

With a swift shake of his head to rid himself of that particular train of thought, Gavin realized that Mogar was still waiting on an answer. “It’s just an expression. A hyperbole of sorts, I guess. Where I’m from, people use it to emphasize things. It would be like replacing the word ‘really’ in a sentence like- ‘That book was really amazing’. ‘That book was bloody amazing’.”

Wow, now that he had explained it, the phrase seemed ridiculous, even to Gavin. Colloquial phrases never were easy to understand.

Mogar seemed to accept the explanation though, because he nodded his head. “Oh, okay.” He turned and waved his hand in a signal to follow. “We should go back to the Archives. Ray is worried about you.”

(~~~)

When Ryan beamed down to the planet, the first thing he saw was Ray flailing his arms around wildly in front of an amused Mogar and a laughing Gavin.

“I swear!” He yelled, “It was insane! And then he just let the guy go. Morylonians are fucking vicious, man.”

Gavin, who was clutching his stomach at his friend’s re-enactment of Mogar’s fight with the Hunter, reigned in his laughter. “I told you! Oh, hi Ryan.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow but shook his head. “I’m not sure I want to know what you’re yelling about, but the Captain sent me down saying there was a medical emergency.”

Gavin pointed to Mogar. “This guy got a nasty gash from a fight on his chest. He insists he’s fine, but he keeps making faces every time he moves a certain way. “

Ryan nodded and pulled a tricorder from his belt. “Alright, let me see it.”

Mogar scowled. “What are you going to do with that?” He eyed the instrument warily.

Ryan simply held it up, trying to appear non-threatening. “It’s a tricorder, similar to the one Gavin uses. It’ll scan your wound and tell me how severe it is. It won’t hurt you at all. You won’t even feel it, I promise.”

Mogar stared for a few seconds before nodding. “Alright. Go ahead.”

As he started the scan, Ryan noticed how the wild boy’s eyes followed every movement he made with the tricorder. He honestly didn’t blame him for his apprehension at all. He’d be nervous too if some alien started pointing weird tools at him.

The tricorder gave a series of beeps that made Ryan frown. “Well, it’s not too bad, but it does require some cleaning and maybe an anti-bacterial medication. I have a hypospray for that.”

Mogar shook his head. “If you don’t mind, I would rather use my own medicines.” He walked over to a table where his bag rested and pulled out a familiar bundle of leaves.

Gavin walked over and looked at the bundle. “That’s the same stuff you put on my ankle, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s a salve made from the petals of one of the flowers that grows at the top of the _Bajnie_ trees.”

Ryan easily brushed off the fact that he had no idea what a _‘Bajnie_ ’ tree was, let alone if he could even pronounce it correctly, but took a special interest in the native medicine. “Would you mind if I took some for a sample? I’d like to know more about your people’s medical abilities.”

Mogar passed the bundle to him. He took a small vial from his medical pouch and scraped a small amount into it, closing the vial with a rubber cork.

“Thanks,” he said as he handed the salve back to Mogar. “I can’t really stop you from using your own means of medicine, but would you like assistance?”

The native thought for a second. In truth, accepting help was admitting weakness, something that was highly dishonorable in his culture. Yet, if he recalled correctly, it was an act of trust to humans to show weakness in front of others. So, with slight hesitation, he agreed. “Yes, thank you.”

(~~~)

As Ryan helped Mogar, Gavin and Ray walked around the building, examining the different types of books. Most of them were things that would usually be in the Academy library, along with a large section of “Classic Literature”.

Ray coughed lightly as he swiped a coating of dust off of a couple of the books, looking at the names on the spines. “Wow, I don’t think anyone studies these anymore. I’ve never even heard of most of them. You ever read uh… _The Great Gatsby_?”

Gavin pulled a rather small, worn-looking book from the shelf and shook his head. “Nope. Doesn’t sound familiar.” The book in his hand was a copy of _Romeo and Juliet_. The spine of the book was well creased with use and there were several pages that had folded corners. “This author sounds kind of familiar. I think he was some British bloke hundreds of years ago. I heard that children used to be forced to read his stuff.”

Ray raised an eyebrow and glanced over Gavin’s shoulder at the words on the page. “That sounds really dumb. It looks like a different language to me.”

Gavin opened to one of the folded pages and tried to read it, but found it difficult. “Maybe it would make more sense read out loud. It looks like a script of some sort anyway.” He skimmed the page and chose a line of the character ‘Friar’. “’Hence from Verona art thou banished. Be patient for the world is broad and wide’…I still don’t get it.”

Suddenly Mogar’s voice piped up from behind them. “‘There is no world without Verona walls, but purgatory, torture, hell itself. Hence banished is banished from the world, and world’s exile is death.’”

Gavin and Ray jumped at his voice. Gavin glanced down at the page then back up at Mogar incredulously. “How in the galaxy did you know that?”

Mogar smiled lightly and took the book from Gavin’s hand. “It was my favorite line of all the books in the Archives.” His smile fell as he looked at the worn book in his hands. “I used to believe it for the longest time, that exile and banishment was a far worse punishment than death.”

He snapped the book closed. “However, I no longer think that.” He smiled and returned the book to Gavin. “When you have so much time to yourself, you have time to consider your circumstances.”

Sudden realization hit Gavin. “When you said you were disowned, you meant banished, didn’t you?”

Mogar nodded solemnly. “Yes, my father’s name is Morranis, and he rules over my people. I was the crown Prince until the King decided that I was no longer fit to one day rule, and he banished me and all those who stood with me in my opinions.”

A strange mix of sadness and anger flickered in his eyes as he spoke and Gavin’s breath caught in his throat. This boy was royalty, er, ex-royalty, and they had had no idea.

Mogar must’ve seen something he thought was pity in Gavin’s eyes and scowled. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I’ve accepted my fate long ago. I’ve made good acquaintances with those who were banished with me and…” He paused and he looked Gavin in the eye, his scowl softening into something of a smile. “If things had not happened this way, I never would have met you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Finally getting into relationship progress. So many plot points to hit, so much time to figure out what's going on. Anyway, see you next time!!!
> 
> LLAP!


	8. Level up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin searches his feelings over his current situation. Meanwhile, Captain Ramsey fills the crew in on just how tangled Starfleet's history with Morylon really is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've alternately titled this chapter 'the one where i had writer's block and took forever to finish'  
> But yes, here is chapter 8! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Forever thanks to my beta- smthelj

With the amount of things bouncing around in his head all at once, Gavin had a hard time deciding on what he wanted to tell Dan about first.

Currently, the young ensign was sitting at the desk in his quarters, jiggling his leg in anticipation as he waited for the communications officer on the SloMo to patch him through to his friend. It hadn’t been long since they had parted ways, just under two weeks, but that didn’t hinder how much Gavin had missed his best friend.

When Dan’s familiar face appeared, Gavin smiled. He seemed to be momentarily distracted by something on his own desk, so Gavin spoke first.

“Heeeeeey, B!”

Dan’s head jerked up and he quickly matched Gavin’s smile as he laid eyes on his friend. “Hey, B! I didn’t think I’d hear from you so soon! You’re not in trouble are you?” His tone was joking, but his eyes held a serious glint.

Gavin laughed and shook his head. “Oh, I’m always in loads of trouble. But no, that’s not what I called for. I just wanted to talk to you again. I miss my B.” For emphasis, he added a small pout.

Dan laughed in response. “Too true. But it is good to hear from you, Gav. What have you been up to over there on the Achievement? Last I heard, your ship was headed to an anomaly point. What happened with that? Anything interesting?”

Gavin bit his lip and restrained himself from blurting out everything that had happened so far. They had been given orders not to disclose any information about what they were doing or their mission. “I wish I could tell you everything, Dan. You’d get a great laugh out of it, I bet. But I can’t relay any information regarding our mission.” This was a real bummer. Dan would have all kinds of advice for all of the questions Gavin had.

Dan frowned lightly and furrowed his brow. “That’s odd. I didn’t think an exploring mission would be held under such security.” He paused. “Unless… you’re in danger. Gavin, have you gone and stuck your nose into alien business after I _specifically_ told you not to?”

Gavin sighed and ran a hand through his already messy hair. He couldn’t lie to Dan, but he had to keep the mission secret. “I won’t lie, B. It is dangerous, and I have been in some really nasty situations lately. BUT! It’s nothing I can’t handle.” He smiled lightly. “I’m in good hands here.”

The skeptical look the other man sent him conveyed just how much he doubted that. However, there wasn’t anything he could do, so Dan had to trust Gavin on everything he said.

“If you say so, Gav.” He breathed tiredly. “Just please… be careful. I know we used to do stupid things like blow shit up behind the dorms because it looked cool, but this isn’t the academy anymore. I could really lose you out here.”

Gavin felt his chest ache at the sadness and worry in his friend’s voice. Dan was like a brother to him and he understood the concern. Yet, it didn’t make it any better.

“I know, mate. And I will, I promise.”

A quiet voice from Dan’s side of the call made the science officer turn his head to listen. He nodded and turned back to Gavin. “I’ve gotta go, B. They need me to help in the labs. I promise I’ll call you soon.”

Gavin sighed, disappointed that the call had been so short, but smiled anyway. “Alright. Be safe, B.”

And with that, the call dropped.

(~~~)

Just seeing Dan again had lifted Gavin’s mood considerably. However, it still hadn’t calmed his raging thoughts. If he’d had just a few more minutes, he could have found a way to covertly ask about his Mogar situation. Damn protocol.

In truth, the situation wasn’t all that extreme, but if given much longer, it could become that way. And while Dan would have loads of tactical advice, what Gavin really wanted to talk to him about was just how personally invested he had become in the future of his new friend.

After the Hunter incident, Mogar had stuck to Gavin’s side like glue, keeping a watchful eye on him. He fretted when Gavin, Ray, and Ryan had to return to the ship, which Ray and Ryan seemed to think more of than Gavin.

It honestly didn’t bother Gavin that the native stayed so close to him. He rather enjoyed the other’s company. Even with his limited knowledge, Mogar could be pretty funny when he wanted to be. He was slowly learning more and more from Gavin, and the defensive and wary personality he had shown when they first met was melting away before his eyes. No doubt Mogar was still the wild and fierce warrior he had been raised as, but as he spent more time with him, Gavin noticed places where his warrior teachings stopped and his mother’s compassionate teachings began.

Well, obviously none of this was what was bugging the sandy haired Brit. No, it wasn’t Mogar’s behavior that was troubling him, it was his own.

Lately, Gavin would find himself thinking about Mogar whenever he had a chance. Ray had to snap him out of some of these daydreams a few times, much to Gavin’s own embarrassment. He’d also begun having urges to see and talk to the wild boy, as if being away made him slightly uncomfortable.

He’d tried to confide some of his predicament to Ray, but the other man just chuckled and told him he was “whipped for the hot alien dude”.

Gavin had sputtered indignantly and rolled his eyes at his friend’s jab, but he had to admit to himself, Mogar was not unpleasing to the eyes.

His pale skin was marked with freckles and scars alike. One time, he had told Gavin the stories behind a few of his more prominent scars, jokingly exaggerating the newly forming one on his chest. He was hesitant to show them at first, thinking that there were some humans that found scars to be ugly or disturbing. That wasn’t the case for Gavin. He didn’t find the scars ugly, but more of Mogar’s story written on his skin.

Gavin sighed and ran his hands down his face, still sitting at his desk. Good lord, this was frustrating. He was never good with his own feelings, so this was just all kinds of fun. Ha ha, sarcasm.

A shrill beeping from the com unit on the wall brought Gavin back to the present. He pushed himself up and walked over, pressing the answer button. “Free here.”

“Hey Gav, Captain wants us in conference room A4 on deck H in five minutes. He says we’ve got some info on the planet to go over.” Ray’s voice echoed from the tiny speaker.

“Alrighty, thanks Ray.”

(~~~)

The small conference room that Geoff had picked for his debriefing was filled to capacity. Some officers sat at the table while the others stood around the walls. Lindsay had managed to bully Blaine out of his seat, and Kerry offered his own to Kara, not wanting to know what kind of threats she was capable of.

“Alright, crew. You all know why you’re here, so let’s get started, because we have a lot to cover.” The Captain said as he took a seat at the head of the table. With the press of a button, a holographic display appeared in the center of the table, showing pictures of the planet and its inhabitants that were taken years ago, if one could judge by the uniforms the Starfleet officers were wearing in the pictures.

“So, about seventy-six years ago, the missing exploration satellite Starfleet sent out not long after they were established crash landed on Morylon. It sent out a distress signal, as was standard. However, the starship that happened to pick up the signal was unable to determine that it came from the crashed satellite and mistakenly thought it was the planet’s inhabitants that were signaling for help.”

Geoff paused as the pictures shifted to show the crashed satellite and more of the natives.

“Obviously, once they came into contact with the natives, they realized their mistake, and just what rule they had broken.”

“The Prime Directive.” Jack said.

“Bingo. Because of that, Starfleet command couldn’t let this little slip-up become public. It would tarnish their perfect little image.” Geoff scowled, but continued. “So they decided to make Morylon into a project, which they kept secret from the Federation. It was decided that something like a school would be set up to teach the planet’s inhabitants about Earth and its culture in hopes of one day bringing them in as another member of the United Federation of Planets.”

The pictures changed again to show images of what Gavin recognized to be the Archives, back when they were first constructed.

“The whole operation ran pretty smoothly for around ten years, even with the difficulty language barriers presented at first. But, of course there’s always something that goes wrong. In this case, it was a revolt lead by high-ranking members of Morylonian society. You see, their warrior-like society is very combat-oriented; so, many Morylonians didn’t take too kindly to humanity’s preference of peace.”

Geoff pressed a button and the pictures in the projection were replaced by the frazzled transmission they had discovered at the Archives. The crew watched with mixed expressions of awe and concern.

Once it finished, the Captain continued.

“The officers that were stationed here were chased off the planet. This transmission is the only thing Starfleet received from them before they evacuated. According to the records, those officers were never heard or seen from again, but I have my suspicions that Starfleet has them under a type of witness protection, just in case the Federation ever figures out how all of this went down.”

With a sigh, Ramsey turned the projection off and looked at his crew. “Long story short, the project was a failure and now Command has decided that second time’s the charm. Our new objective is to attempt to pick up where the officers left off and persuade the Morylonians to join the UFP.”

Ryan was the first to speak up, his voice laced with unconcealed disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? This is a borderline suicide mission.”

Geoff nodded, and pursed his lips. “I agree, but we have our orders. We know now, however, that there was also a very large portion of the population that defended the officers in the past. Their current culture includes some of the teachings that were used before as well as Federation Standard, so communication is relatively easy.”

The room was quiet. Everyone contemplated the information that had just been presented to them. It was a lot to take in, but the same question came to all of them - What was the plan?

Captain Ramsey stood from his chair. “I’ve conferred with my first officer and we have assigned each one of you a specific job. Listen closely…”

Gavin shifted his attention from his speaking Captain to Ray, who had been tugging on his sleeve. “What?” He whispered.

“When are we going to tell him about Mogar’s relationship to the King? That’s gotta be important, right?” Ray whispered back.

Gavin frowned. He’d meant to tell the Captain as soon as he’d gotten back on the ship, but he had been in a conference with Admiral Burns up until the current meeting, so there had been no chance.

“After this meeting.” Gavin whispered. “We’ll let him know then.”

“Ensigns Free and Narvaez!”

Geoff’s voice cut their conversation and their attention snapped back to the matter at hand. However, instead of wearing an angry expression, the Captain was smirking.

“Would you both please stand?”

They complied while sharing a nervously confused glance.

Captain Ramsey walked over to stand in front of them. “You both have shown excellent skills in your fields and amazing bravery in the perilous situations you have faced in such a short amount of time. Normally this process would take longer, but I have run my request by Admiral Burns, and he has approved my decision. You two will be part of the primary team on this mission, and have been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Congratulations, men.”

The room filled with applause from the gathered crew as the Captain shook each of their hands.

(~~~)

As most of the crew filed out to begin their assigned jobs, the primary team, which consisted of Gavin, Ray, Ryan, Jack, Lindsay, and Geoff, stayed behind to further discuss their plan of action.

“Okay,” The Captain started,” So our first course of action is to make contact with whoever is in charge. From what we know, they have a type of monarchy.”

Ray elbowed Gavin in the side. The Brit yelped and grabbed the place where no-doubt a bruise would soon form.

Geoff raised his brow at them. “Do you boys have something to add?”

Gavin glared at Ray, but answered anyway. “Yes, sir. We recently discovered that their King’s name is Morranis. Apparently, he is also Mogar’s father.”

The surprised looks from the others in the room made Gavin uncomfortable, because he knew that he was building up their hopes, just to have to smash them down again.

Geoff leaned forward with anticipation. “Are you serious? That’s great! He can meditate between us and help us persuade the King! This is fantastic!”

Ray rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Uh, I don’t think that’s going to happen, sir.”

“What? Why not? You just said Mogar was the Prince, right?”

Gavin nodded, but frowned. “Yes, but he’s the _outcast_ prince. He was banished by Morranis because the King doesn’t believe in human morals. Mogar is technically a wanted fugitive.”

And just like that, the mood in the room dropped like an anchor.

Captain Ramsey sat back with a frustrated sigh. “That’s just great. Not only are we not liked by the King, we’ve been fraternizing with his outcast son. This just can’t get any better, can it?”

Nice going, Gavin, way to poorly convey information. In a desperate attempt to fix his blunder, Gavin dredged his memory for anything Mogar might have said that could help them.

“Well, if anyone has an idea of how we could go about this, now’s a good time to speak up.” Jack mumbled, also put out by the recent development.

With a shout Gavin jumped out of his seat. “That’s it!”

His crewmates jumped and fixed him with looks that ranged from incredulous to annoyed.

He ignored them all and turned to Ray. “The Elder. Mogar said he still spoke to the one he calls the Elder. From what I know about most cultures, an elder is usually someone high up in a society, right? Maybe this one can help us speak to Morranis!”

Ray nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re onto something. Captain, what do you think?”

Ramsey was silent for a few seconds, a serious, contemplative look etched onto his face. Eventually he nodded once and stood. “It may be our best shot. Free, Narvaez, Haywood, Patillo. Grab your phasers and communicators. Ms. Tuggey, be ready at the Communications station on the bridge to keep contact with us. We’re heading down to the planet.”

“Aye!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pray this next chapter won't take over two weeks to finish! I hope you enjoyed.
> 
> LLAP!


	9. Looking Before You Leap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Ramsey takes the initiative to get this show on the road. However, he's not the best spokesperson when it comes to Mogar. Better let Gavin handle this one, sir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, So i've decided that updates will come every two weeks AT THE LEAST. I'll try to get the out as fast as I can, but i've found two weeks to be a good amount of time to write and get the chapters edited for you guys.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Forever thanks to smthelj!!! I couldn't do it without you!

Mogar jumped slightly as the sound of people being beamed onto the planet came from outside the Archive doors. Even still, the sound surprised him sometimes. He expected it to be Gavin and Ray, possibly there to run more scans and ask more questions. However, he was slightly confused to find not only his two friends, but Ryan, the man named Jack, and Captain Ramsey  greeting him as well.

The Captain had only been down once or twice after their first meeting, so it was a rather odd surprise for him to be there. It certainly wasn’t unwelcome; Mogar had come to admire the Captain and his personality. Yet, the fact that all of them had come meant that something big had happened, or was about to happen.

The group entered the Archives, led by the Captain. Their faces weren’t exactly grim, but they held an air of seriousness that made Mogar feel edgy. It wouldn’t do good to dwell on the feeling, so Mogar greeted them just as he had every day before.

“Good Morning, Captain. It’s been a while since you last came down. And from the looks on your faces, I’m guessing this isn’t a pleasure visit.”

The Captain shook his head. “I’m afraid not, lad. We’ve recently received information from our superiors at Starfleet Command, and we’ve decided that it’s time to advance with our plans. We’ve been given orders to attempt to re-establish a connection between your people and Starfleet. This includes the rebuilding of the school that was once here.” He looked around the Archives as he spoke.

Mogar’s eyes widened. “You cannot be serious. There is no way. You will end up like those who left before, or worse.” He grimaced and looked at Gavin, dread filling his gut.

Geoff crossed his arms, but nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe so. But there is also a strong chance that it may work this time.” He pursed his lips for a second before blowing them out with a sigh. “Look, I don’t know exactly what will happen, but we have a plan and we need your help if it’s going to work.”

Confusion filled Mogar’s face. What could they possibly need him for, other than perhaps some cultural references in order to interact with his people? Unless… oh no.

Mogar began to rapidly shake his head. “I cannot take you to Morranis. I will not come anywhere close to the Royal City. The Hunters will be swarming the forests nearby and they will not hesitate to kill every single one of us. I am an outcast, and by associating with me, you have placed bounties on your heads. I will not bring you to your deaths.”

He bared his teeth with a glare and stepped back, away from the crew. His position reminded Gavin of his first meeting with his crewmates. The only difference is that now, Gavin could tell he wasn’t trying to threaten them, he was afraid.

Ramsey seemed surprised at the wild boy’s actions and glanced at Gavin, silently trying to convey that he, perhaps, wasn’t the best at communicating with Mogar.

Gavin stepped forward and placed himself between Mogar and the Captain, once again playing mediator. He noticed Mogar’s glare soften and his fierce expression drop to something more like a grimace. It was odd, but Gavin would think on it later. For the moment, he needed to focus on explaining things.

“Mogar, no. We don’t want you to take us to the King. We know you can’t and we’d never ask you to put yourself or us in harm’s way like that. Please believe me; we wouldn’t do that to you.”

Mogar stared straight into Gavin’s eyes, looking for any sign that the Brit was lying to him, but he found none. He looked to the other’s faces and examined them as well, again, finding no trace of deceit.

After what felt like ages, Mogar fully relaxed his posture with a look of apologetic embarrassment. He admitted to himself that it was childish to jump to conclusions like he did. Not only that, but to show such distrust in the ones he called his friends was a dishonor upon himself.

“I’m sorry. I do believe you. I should not have made assumptions. Please, continue with the explanation of your plan. I’ll help in whatever way I can.”

Gavin sighed in relief and smiled. He looked to his Captain to explain, but Ramsey gestured for him to go ahead. Maybe that was best.

“Okay, well, I remember when we first met, you told me that even though you don’t speak to most of your people, you still speak to the one you call the Elder, right?”

Mogar answered with a nod. “That’s correct. The Elder chooses not to associate himself with one particular uh… section of our people. He is allowed to communicate with anyone and everyone, including outcasts. To our people, the Elder is the most wise and powerful of all, though he does not fight. He has been most kind to me and those who were banished alongside me.”

Gavin nodded. “Right. So, our plan was, maybe we would be able to talk to him. He might not be able to get us to Morranis either, but it’s a place to start.”

“Fair enough.” Mogar said. He turned and gathered his pack and sword before heading towards one of the exits from the Archives. “I hope you are well-prepared. It is a good trek to _Lorrainia._ ”

(~~~)

It was no joke when Mogar said it would be a trek. As it turned out, _Lorrainia_ was the name of the city where many of the outcasts and rebel Morylonians had made a home. It was far from any of the other cities and hidden deep within one of the densest forests Gavin had ever seen.

After a good hour of travel, Mogar stopped them. “We should rest for a few moments. Past this point, there are patrols that protect the city. They will recognize me, but we need to stay together.”

Ray practically flopped on the ground. “Sweet Jupiter, I think my legs are going to fall off.”

Ryan huffed out a laugh. “We haven’t even been walking that long, perhaps an hour or so at most.”

The tactical specialist groaned from the ground. “‘An hour’ he says. Look, I don’t know about you, but the most I walk at a time is from my room to the bridge. And that takes like, three minutes at the most. ‘An hour’… shut up, Ryan.”

Gavin pulled a canteen out of the bag he had on his back and pressed his thumb to the touchpad, triggering the cap to flip open. He drank slowly. The urge to chug every last drop of water was strong, but his sense to save it won out.

Mogar didn’t really rest. He walked in a tight circle around the group, eyes darting around the foliage. He bounced lightly on his feet and absentmindedly clacked his fangs on his teeth; a nervous habit he had picked up when he was young.

It was dumb, really, to be nervous. As soon as he saw a patrol or a guard, all would be good and they’d be inside the city in no time. But, for some reason, the worry of one of the humans wandering off and being attacked by a patrol stuck to him like sap. Not to mention the treat of Hunters and wildlife as well.

“Alright. We need to get moving.” Mogar called. “Stay close and move quickly.”

Ray mumbled a curse as they set off through the forest again.

The pace was definitely quicker than before, and soon the Achievement crew was panting as they switched from a fast walk to a jog in order to keep up with Mogar.

The wild lad wasn’t breaking a sweat. His long strides were nothing to him, but when he noticed the humans struggling to keep up, he made sure to keep his speed in check.

It was a few minutes before Mogar caught the first hint of a nearby patrol. Still-green, snapped branches and distant noises signaled a rather inexperienced group. They were possibly new rebel trainees. Hopefully, they’d recognize Mogar, or at least have heard of him. If not, there’d be some problems.

He slowed to a stop and watched as the rest of the group caught up.

Ray once again flopped to the ground, followed closely by Gavin dropping to his knees. Geoff placed his hands on his knees and leaned over, trying to catch his breath. Jack seemed relatively okay, but his face was beet red.

“There’s a patrol group nearby. Stay here and stay quiet. I’m going to make contact.” Mogar whispered.

He was answered by multiple nods and a weak arm flop from Ray.

(~~~)

Finding the patrol had been one of the easiest things Mogar had ever done. They made simple mistakes that left a blindingly obvious trail to follow. They were definitely in training.

Once he had caught up to the group, Mogar found them to be resting. They had broken rank and spread themselves around a small clearing. One member remained on alert and kept an eye on her fellow companions and their surroundings.

Now, the tricky part would be to make himself known without having to avoid a sword or spear to the gut. Oh well, might as well just wing it.

Mogar quietly crept around behind the one he assumed to be leading the patrol and took a deep breath before emerging from his hiding spot in the foliage. He had his hands raised in caution and relaxed his posture to appear as non-threatening as possible. It didn’t help much because the patrol members jumped in surprise and trained all of their weapons on him, shouting threats in harsh Morylonian.

Mogar rolled his eyes, but addressed them calmly.

“ _Peace. I’m not looking for a fight, nor do I wish harm on Lorrainia. My name is Mogar and I’m looking for assistance.”_

Most of the patrol eyed him with suspicion, making Mogar fear that none of them had ever heard of him and a fight may be building. However, the assumed leader of the patrol nearly dropped his sword in surprise, eyes widening.

_“Warrior Prince Mogar?”_

Mogar nodded with a confident grin. At least one of them was aware of the allies of Lorrainia.

_“Yes. I’m looking for The Elder. Is he still in the city?”_

The warrior paused in thought before nodding. _“Yes._ ” He said with a nod. _“He returned from the Royal City yesterday. Are you in need of an escort to the city, my Lord?”_

Mogar winced at the use of a title. He didn’t like the fact that many who had left the Royal City with him, as well as others still saw him as their Prince, and treated him like royalty.

_“I would appreciate it if you didn’t use titles when addressing me. Just Mogar is fine. But yes, I am in need of an escort. But… I have companions as well.”_

The entire patrol party looked surprised. It was known that Mogar lived and roamed alone. So the idea of companions was almost unbelievable.

The leader looked around before turning back to Mogar with a confused expression.

_“Who?”_

(~~~)

“Um… Mogar? This bloke’s staring at me really hard.”

Gavin called to his friend nervously as one of the members of the patrol group stared at him in wonder.

It wouldn’t have bothered the Brit that much, but the fact that the Morylonian was way too far inside his personal space made him rather uncomfortable. A whole new level of discomfort was added when another member came up behind him and began running his clawed hands through Gavin’s hair, making him freeze in shock.

“Mogar!” He squeaked in a frightened voice.

Mogar had been standing a few feet away, watching, amused, as the patrol examined the humans. He had chuckled when one went to grab Ray’s shirt and the young lieutenant had jumped and pulled his phaser out. Unfortunately, it failed to threaten the warrior as he didn’t know what it could do. So, he settled on staring in interest.

However, the frightened tone in Gavin’s voice pulled at Mogar’s protective instincts and he let a growl rumble low in his chest, clearly signaling for the two warriors to back off before one or both of them lost an arm.

The Morylonians quickly backed away from Gavin, giving Mogar apologetic glances before shuffling around to see Geoff’s mustache. 

Gavin sighed in relief and moved himself closer to Mogar. “Right curious, aren’t they?”

Mogar grinned, showing off his fangs. “Of course they are. They’ve never seen humans before. You cannot say I wasn’t the same way when we first met.”

The sandy-haired man huffed lightly and frowned. “Yeah, but you could understand me and backed off some. Why can’t they? I thought you said that Standard was part of your curriculum or whatever.”

“It is.” Mogar explained. “However, many do not learn your language as… thoroughly as I did. Many only learn simple and basic phrases.” He gestured to the patrol. “They are very young and most likely have not learned very much past traditional greetings and general objects.”

Gavin could understand that, even though it was an old idea to teach children a second language once they had reached a certain age. Now, they learned two or three as they grew up, starting as early as they were able. It was a little strange to see such an ancient concept at work.

Captain Ramsey managed to extract himself from the curious grasps of the patrol members and approached the two chatting men. “While I’m glad we are connecting with your people, we really should be getting to this city, shouldn’t we?”

Mogar nodded and called out to the patrol leader. _“We need to get moving. It’s crucial we see The Elder as soon as possible.”_

The leader nodded firmly and shouted orders to his group. They fell into formation around the Achievement crew and began to lead the way to the city.

This leg of the journey was nowhere near as long as the first part. It was a blessing on the crew’s legs and morale to see the outside wall of a city appear, looming in the distance.

Once the group approached the gate, the patrol leader yelled up to a pair of guards standing atop the wall. They shouted back and the gate began to swing open.

The patrol leader led them into the city and Gavin’s face broke into an enormous smile.

Buildings lined well-worn paths, stalls were set up side-by-side, and Morylonians and their children roamed throughout crowds and side streets.

As the group made their way down the main road, nearly all of the citizens paused in their work and stared wide-eyed at the humans and their escorts.

Mogar glanced at his friends’ amazed faces and grinned.

“Gentlemen, welcome to _Lorrainia_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I look forward to seeing you all next chapter!
> 
> LLAP!


	10. Mess of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wisdom is imparted, feelings are exchanged, and soon, tensions will come to a head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the newest chapter! I'm sorry for it being late, but I've been out of town recently and haven't had time to myself.
> 
> Forever thanks to smthelj!!!

_“What are they?”_

_“Is that Prince Mogar?”_

_“Who is with him?”_

_“Are they aliens?”_

Mogar smirked to himself as he listened to the not so quiet whisperings of the townsfolk as their small procession made its way through Lorrainia.

The crew of the Achievement looked around, taking in the civilization with fascination and excitement. Well, most of the excitement may have been on Gavin’s part.

The young lad had been eager to see how the Morylonians lived. And now that he was able to make connections between the natives and what he knew of other races in the universe, a better understanding of Morylonian culture and life was within his grasp.

The leader of the patrol party weaved them through the streets with ease and led them to what looked to be a large tent. It reminded Gavin of the old circus tents on earth, however, the deep burgundy color of this tent contrasted greatly from the red and white pictures in his memory.

The leader stopped them and approached the opening of the tent. He dropped down onto one knee and addressed whoever was inside.

_“Elder, Mogar has returned to the city and wishes to speak with you. He has brought humans with him.”_

Gavin frowned slightly, somewhat frustrated that he couldn’t understand their language, and glanced at Ray. The other boy just shrugged, confusion evident in him as well.

After a moment or two the flap of the tent was parted by a withered looking hand and the one assumed to be The Elder stepped forth.

He was rather small, but that could be because he was hunched over. His skin was heavily wrinkled and his face reminded Gavin of the bulldogs of Earth. Robes of the same color of his tent flowed over his body and hung loosely down his arms. However, despite his ancient looks, his movements were smooth and fluid, as if he were floating.

“Humans, you say? I have not seen humans in many years. Mogar, my boy, you keep me on my toes with all of your antics.” The Elder said with a chuckle.

Captain Ramsey nearly jumped in surprise at the sound of Federation Standard coming from The Elder’s mouth.

“You can speak Standard as well.”

The Elder turned to the Captain and nodded. “Indeed I can. Better so than young Mogar here. But please, come inside. There is much to speak about, and much of it is not for the ears of the bystanders.”

(~~~)

The inside of the tent was dimly lit, but small slits in the roof allowed for natural light to come through. Some of the rays struck pieces of colored glass that hung around the tent, reflecting and refracting the light around the open space.

A low table stood to one side of the tent while a wicker-like chair and multiple pillows were off to the other side. A few large trunks sat around the large room, and books were scattered over nearly every surface.

The Elder moved to sit in the chair and motioned to the pillows around it. “Please sit. I apologize that I do not have more chairs. I do not usually entertain many guests here, and most Morylonian homes have cushions instead of chairs.

The Achievement crew looked to Mogar, who had already sat down on one of the cushions. He nodded for them to sit as well.

Gavin planted himself on a pillow next to Mogar and watched as his crewmates did the same, chuckling as Jack almost fell backwards.

After he situated himself, Captain Ramsey looked to The Elder. “We thank you for allowing us into your home. It is an honor to be guests of such an esteemed member of your people.”

The Elder smiled gently. “The honor is all mine, Captain. It has been so long since I have been able to speak to your people. I was very close to the Captain of the expedition that was run off all those years ago. In all honesty, I thought I would never see another human or Starfleet member in my lifetime, but here you are. I assume you are here to try and rekindle what once was, am I correct?”

Geoff nodded. “Yes. We would like to attempt to establish a connection between your people and the United Federation of Planets. However, we understand that we must go through your King in order to even begin plans of peace.”

A solemn nod answered him. “Indeed you must. It is unfortunate that Morranis is so stubborn. His hatred for your people is a complex web that even I am not sure of the source. He will not listen easily, that I know.” His voice trailed off sadly as The Elder glanced at Mogar, who was distractedly watching the light from one of the glass pieces weave a pattern on the wall of the tent.

With a great sigh, The Elder looked once more to the Captain. “I will help you as much as I can, but in the end, I cannot assure your success. I have a plan to get you into the Royal City to see Morranis, but past that point, all is up to you.”

Geoff nodded. “We are forever in your debt. This could be the beginning of a new age for Morylon.”

Mogar’s light scoff drew their attention. “Or, it will do nothing, and Morranis will continue to reign with hatred.”

The Elder rolled his eyes, but smiled at the young boy. “Your stubbornness could rival your father’s, Mogar. Perhaps you would be glad to hear that your brother has begun arguing with Morranis as well. It would seem there is division among the royal household.”

Mogar shrugged, attempting to seem nonchalant, but the Elder could see that this news had raised his spirits.

The Elder chuckled and returned his attention to the humans. “My idea is simple, but it will take some skill on your part…”

(~~~)

Gavin couldn’t tell if he felt uncomfortable or nervous…or both. Ray, who stood next to him, seemed to be having the same internal dilemma.

“Gav, do these pants make my butt look big?”

Gavin snorted a laugh. “Ray, everything makes your butt look big.”

Ray put an offended look on his face, though Gavin could tell it was fake.

“Whoa! Hostile words from friendly lips, are you trying to start a fight, Mr. Free?”

Gavin laughed at his friend’s melodramatic reaction.

The two were currently dressed in native wear that consisted of a pair of light pants and long cloaks over their shoulders. Their chests were bare, but their pants were fitted loosely enough that they could easily hide their phasers and holsters under the waistbands. Though, whatever did show was hidden by their cloaks.

The rest of the Achievement crew were dressed similarly.

The plan to get an audience with Morranis was simple, but also dangerous. The crew would pose as assistants to The Elder as he made his usual trip to advise the King. As long as no one found out they weren’t Morylonians, the plan would go smoothly, however, should their identity be revealed before reaching the King, the whole plan could be ruined.

Gavin fiddled with tie of his cloak for a good while after the rest of his crewmates had left the tent, before clawed hands swiftly took the strings and tied them with ease.

Gavin looked up in surprise, but relaxed when he recognized Mogar. “Oh, thanks.”

Mogar smirked at him, but the humor didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You wouldn’t last a second without me to help you, would you? You’re lucky I’m traveling with you for a good distance.”

His question was meant to be in jest, but Gavin couldn’t help but feel the truthful intent behind it.

“Don’t worry!” He smiled at his friend. “I haven’t come all this way to be done in by some random slip up.”

Mogar’s face showed just how much he really doubted that.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure. However, the truth is…”

The native boy trailed off, seeming to debate with himself on whether he should continue his thought. After a moment, he sighed and continued.

“I get…anxious, when I don’t know where you are. I don’t like not knowing if you are okay.”

Gavin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Mogar wouldn’t meet his eyes, but he could tell he was waiting for some sort of response.

Gavin’s heart beat loudly in his chest. He hadn’t really thought much more on his own feelings toward Mogar since his short chat with Dan, but with the boy’s current confession, all of those thoughts came back to full force.

Without really thinking, Gavin wrapped his arms around Mogar’s shoulders and pulled him against his chest.

Mogar froze in Gavin’s hold for a second before relaxing and wrapping his own arms around Gavin’s middle.

“It’ll be okay. I’ll be back safe and sound before you even realize I’ve left. Besides, we’ve got a while together before I go off to play Ambassador for Earth.” Gavin mumbled over Mogar’s head, only realizing then just how much taller he was than the other man.

They released each other and Mogar’s face reverted back to its normal passive position, though the way he was clacking his teeth together showed he wasn’t completely calm.

“Whatever you say, Gavin.”

(~~~)

After Gavin had left the tent to join his crewmates, Mogar sat back on one of the cushions and let his eyes follow the lights from the colored glass around the tent.

His mind was spinning in so many different directions, he almost felt as if he could relate with the light rays. The now almost permanent feeling of dread in his gut kept his thoughts running wild to every possible outcome of death for their mission.

_“You seem troubled, Mogar. More so than usual.”_

The gentle voice of The Elder brought Mogar back to the present.

The old Morylonian glided over to the young native and rested himself on a cushion as well. _“I have not seen you so worked up in a long while. Tell me you thoughts.”_

A frustrated sigh slipped past Mogar’s lips as he leaned back on the cushion. _“That’s hard to do when I can’t even keep track of them myself. I’m just…worried. What if they don’t come back? What if the Hunters discover they’re not Morylonians? What if I never see them again?”_

There was a long pause before The Elder chuckled. _“You mean, what if you never see Gavin again?”_

Mogar sat up quickly with surprise etched onto his face. _“What do you mean?”_

_“My boy, I have been around for many, many lifetimes. I am not blind in the slightest, and I cansee the way you look at that boy. Have you considered you may have developed feelings for him?”_

Mogar frowned and looked to the ground. _“I…I have.”_ He paused as he absentmindedly picked at his clothes. _“It’s just that… I’m afraid.”_

The Elder tilted his head. _“Afraid of what, Mogar?”_

_“I’m afraid of him not feeling the same. But, I could live with that. He is a great friend. What I’m afraid of most…is losing him.”_

The feeling of something wet hitting his hands made Mogar jump. He hadn’t even realized he’d started crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looking forward to seeing you all next time!
> 
> LLAP!


	11. Dreamscapers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their journey underway, tempers are rising and a far off storm is drifting closer. What is personal space, anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it. It's just a tad bit of filler, but the next chapter will delve into more action, so don't worry!  
>  For the next few weeks, I will be out of town for a family vacation, so I apologize in advance for how late the next chapter will be. I'll try and make it longer to make up for the longer wait!! You guys are great to me and I have a smile fit every time this gets kudos or someone comments. It makes my entire existence.
> 
> None of this would be possible without my beta smthelj. Forever thanks.
> 
> Now, on with the show.

The send-off from the city was less than eventful. A few of the citizens had gathered, if only to stare in slight confusion over the humans dressed in their clothing. Those who noticed the humans looked different, anyway.

“Most of them don’t even notice you’re not one of us.” Mogar commented as he watched most of the townspeople pass by without so much as a glance. “This plan might actually work.”

Ray fixed his face into a fake pout. “What, you don’t trust our espionage skills, man?”

Mogar stared at him for a few seconds before blinking. “I have no idea what that word means.” He said blankly.

The rest of the crew snickered as Ray scrunched his face up in slight disappointment that his wit had gone completely over the native’s head.

They were all pretty much ready to leave. Sacks filled with food, water and blankets sat on each of their backs. Necessities only, nothing more.

The leader of the patrol that would accompany them on their trek approached Mogar.

_“Everything is ready to go. The Elder wishes to move as soon as possible.”_

Mogar glanced over to where the Elder stood with the rest of the patrol, watching the humans with a humorous smile.

He gave the leader a nod and turned to grab the humans’ attention.

“We need to get moving if we’re going to make a good distance before nightfall.”

Captain Ramsey nodded and yelled to his men. “Alright, crew! Our mission begins now. I want all of your skill and training to be in the forefront of your minds. No mistakes. Am I clear?”

A resounding “Aye, sir!” answered him.

“Alright, let’s get going.”

(~~~)

Ryan was sure that if he heard Ray whine one more time about the lack of arch support in his shoes, he was going to haul off and murder something. He could not take much more of this.

“Who designed these things? Do these people not have arches? Do they just not care? What-”

“ALRIGHT. THAT’S ENOUGH. COME HERE.”

Ray yelped as Ryan grabbed his wrists and forcibly hauled his arms over the backs of his shoulders, forcing Ray to scramble to wrap his legs around the taller man’s waist to keep from dangling or sliding off. He situated himself and moved Ryan’s pack to the side slightly, trying to become comfortable in his new piggyback ride position.

“Ryan! What the actual hell, man?”

Ryan just huffed and adjusted his grip on Ray for better support and continued to follow the rest of their now confused group.

“If I had to hear you whine anymore, something would not have survived the day. So sit tight, and shut up.”

Ray opened his mouth to argue, but a quick, angry glance from Ryan made him snap it shut and look off into the jungle. Might as well take advantage of his new position and enjoy not walking.

Gavin bit down on his lip to keep his giggles in, noticing Mogar doing a similar thing to keep his own laughter in check. Oh, it was hilarious, but neither wanted to be on the receiving end of Ryan’s anger. That man had needles and wasn’t afraid to use them.

The weather in the jungle they traveled through was stifling. Although, Gavin had noticed that their current attire made the heat of the planet much more bearable than their Starfleet uniforms had.

As the planet’s sun began to set, however, the temperature swiftly began to drop. Instead of wiping sweat from his brow, Gavin had started to shiver slightly whenever a breeze brushed by his skin.

It wasn’t long before visibility began to become hindered and the leader of the patrol, whose name turned out to be Alani, decided to stop the party.

_“It’s best if we stop here for the night.”_ He looked at the humans with a frown. _“They are shivering. Does the temperature affect them badly?”_

Mogar frowned in thought. He was spared having to answer as the Elder answered for him, approaching the two.

_“Yes. Human bodies are sensitive to drastic changes in temperature.”_ He sighed. “ _I had forgotten that. The night will be difficult for them, as their systems do not retain heat as ours do.”_

Worry clouded Mogar’s face. He had noticed Gavin’s shivers, but honestly hadn’t thought much of them. Now he realized that they should have been an obvious sign of a growing problem.

_“What if we were to sleep in proximity to them?”_ Alani suggested. _“It would allow for us to share body heat with them.”_

Mogar’s eyebrows raised in appreciative surprise. Why hadn’t he thought of that? There were enough Morylonians to be paired with a human. It would work. He nodded in agreement.

Alani chuckled as he turned to relay the plan to his men. _“Now the hard part will be getting them to agree to spend a night cuddled with some aliens.”_

Mogar let his own laughter escape as he too turned to tell the humans their new sleeping arrangements.

As soon as the crew realized they were stopping for the night, Ryan had let Ray down. Neither said anything about it, but Gavin could see a light tint of pink across Ray’s cheeks.

“There’s been a slight change in arrangements for the night.” Mogar said as he walked over.

He could see now that Gavin wasn’t the only one shivering. Nearly all of them were shaking in some way, whether it was Geoff’s hands or Ray’s shoulders.

“It slipped our attention that your bodies do not retain heat as ours do. So, we’ve decided to pair each of you up with a patrol member. That way, they will be able to help keep you warm.”

The Achievement crew shared glances with each other before looking to their Captain. It would be weird to spend a night wrapped up with someone you knew next to nothing about.

But Captain Ramsey was a rational man…most of the time anyway. And he knew a reasonable solution when he saw one.. One such as this that could be the difference between living another day and freezing to death in the middle of the night; it was an easy choice.

“Of course. Just tell us what to do.”

It seemed the patrol members were just as wary about this idea as the humans were.

After some translations, they began pairing each person up.

Not really wanting to sleep with one of the strange patrolmen, Gavin placed his hand on Mogar’s arm. “I call dibs on Mogar.”

The curly haired boy looked at him in amused surprise, but merely chuckled as Ray made noise of annoyance.

“What? No fair! You know him!”

Gavin laughed. “Exactly. That’s why I called dibs. But don’t worry, Ray, I’m sure Alani’s a nice guy.”

Ray eyed the patrol leader and sighed in defeat, mumbling something about ‘dumb Brits and their alien boyfriends’.

(~~~)

Okay, so Gavin had to admit that the ground was not his favorite sleeping place. Even with patches of soft foreign moss to cushion him, the firm dirt wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world.

“I’m going to hit you if you keep squirming, Gavin.”

Mogar mumbled in slight annoyance as Gavin shifted once more.

Both of their blankets were tossed over them as they laid close enough for their arms to touch.

To be honest, Mogar would be lying if he said he was really annoyed. In reality, he was ecstatic for the presented opportunity to be so close to Gavin.

“Sorry.” Gavin apologized quietly. “I’m used to the soft bed on the Achievement, so this is really weird.”

His sentiments were shared among his crewmates as well. Ryan had slipped in and out of sleep before finally falling into a restless slumber, much to the relief of his own partners growing annoyance. Geoff and Jack fell asleep fairly quickly, most likely due to the fact that they had been in similar situations before.

Ray was out like a light, snoring loud enough for Gavin to hear halfway across the camp. Alani had opted to stay awake and keep watch, highly doubting his own ability to sleep with Ray beside him.

Mogar thought for a second before asking a question. “What’s uncomfortable? Maybe I can help.”

Gavin shrugged and shifted again, this time sitting up on his elbows and lifting his torso. “Mostly my head, I guess. This moss isn’t the softest and I don’t want to wake up with a headache.”

It was quiet as Mogar tried to think of a solution. Nervously he moved his arm to lay straight out. “You could use my arm if you want. It might be better than the ground…”

Gavin blinked at him in surprise. “Is that weird though? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Mogar shook his head. “No. I’ll be fine.”

Eventually, Gavin sighed lightly and lowered his head to rest on the other man’s arm.

It was a lot better than the ground. It was soft and warm and suddenly Gavin felt the exhaustion of the day hit him. His eyes slowly fluttered shut as he sighed.

“Is that better?” Mogar whispered.

Gavin hummed an affirmative, not even opening his eyes as he began to settle into sleep with a barely whispered “Thanks.”

A soft smile broke Mogar’s face. He felt his friend’s body relax and drift off to sleep.

While physical contact and affection weren’t as common in his people’s culture as he’d read it was in humans’, the feeling of Gavin beside him made Mogar feel at ease. Worries of harm coming to the other boy drifted from his mind as he too began to feel the pull of sleep.

He adjusted their blankets to ensure their heat wouldn’t escape in the night and finally closed his eyes, not fighting the inviting relief of sleep.

(~~~)

_Gavin’s breaths came out in pants and wheezes as he pushed his legs as hard as they would go._

_Trees blurred past him as he ran, seemingly only to reappear a few feet ahead of him, like a recycling conveyer belt of forest scenery._

_Behind him, a Vhiva charged, its legs pushing it forward at an alarming speed and its muzzle split into a terrifying screech of a roar._

_Gavin didn’t know how long he’d been running, but he knew that soon he wouldn’t be able to and the beast pursuing him would catch and kill him._

_Suddenly the repetitive forest floor sprung up a misplaced root, catching the lad’s foot and twisting his ankle, sending him crashing down into the dirt with a cry._

_He twisted his torso to stare at the looming Vhiva in horror as it reared up on its hind legs, vines whipping around its body and striking Gavin._

_The world seemed to slow down as a sudden vicious yell pierced the muffled noise in Gavin’s ears._

_Before the Vhiva could come crashing down on him, a figure leapt from behind him, a translucent blue blade lifted high above his head._

_With the blink of his eye, the world sped back up and the beast was dead on the ground. Gavin’s savior stared down at it in disgust._

_However, when he turned to look at Gavin, his eyes softened._

_“Are you okay?”_

_Only when he spoke did Gavin realize that his rescuer had been Mogar._

_The Brit nodded and stood up._

_“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.”_

_Mogar smiled at him and held his hand out._

_“Come with me. I need to show you something.”_

_Gavin took the hand without a second thought._

_However, as soon as their skin touched, the ground beneath Gavin’s feet rumbled and lurched, pulling the two apart._

_A large crack split the ground between them, widening into a chasm about three feet wide._

_Mogar stared at Gavin in fear. His mouth moved as he screamed what Gavin thought was his name, but he couldn’t hear it._

_The world had gone silent._

_Gavin reached his arm toward Mogar, but suddenly found himself tilting and falling backwards as a single scream echoed in his head._

_“GAVIN!”_

(~~~)

With a jolt, Gavin shot up from where he had been lying, a strangled sound escaping his mouth.

As the world came into focus, his strained breaths slowly evened out to deep pants of fear.

“Gavin? What’s wrong? Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

Mogar’s familiar voice startled Gavin and he jumped.

Worry was etched into Mogar’s face as he looked Gavin up and down, attempting to discern what was going on.

Gavin made an effort to calm his breathing as well as his heart, which felt as if it was about to leap from his chest and hightail it back to the Achievement. He brought his knees up to his chest and folded his arms, resting his face in the opening between them. The details of the dream were already fleeing his mind.

“Sorry.” He gasped out after what seemed like forever. “Nightmare.”

Mogar’s face softened as he grasped what had upset his friend. With a gentle hand, he began to rub circles into Gavin’s back.

“I’m sorry. But, it’s okay. It was just a dream. It can’t hurt you out here.”

Gavin nodded into his arms and took a few deep breaths, willing himself to relax into Mogar’s touch.

Mogar just continued his movements, giving Alani a look and a nod, telling him all was well. The patrol leader had jumped up at Gavin’s scream, expecting an attack. With no obvious threat, Alani settled back against Ray and resumed his watch.

When his breathing returned to normal and his heart was finally beating at a regular pace, Gavin turned his head to look at Mogar. “Thanks. I’m sorry for waking you up. Don’t even remember what I was dreaming about.”

Well, that was a partial lie. While most of the dream had faded into obscure shapes and colors, the echoing screaming of his name still bounced around in his head. But, he wasn’t going to bother with it at the moment. It was just a freak dream, they happened all the time.

Mogar smiled understandingly and continued rubbing Gavin’s back, only scooting closer and pressing his side to Gavin’s. “It’s okay. There’s still a good while before the sun rises. You should get some more sleep.”

Gavin nodded slowly, leaning his head to rest tiredly on Mogar’s shoulder.

This time when he fell asleep, he was rewarded with a void of dreamless rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it. Spooky stuff going on.  
> I look forward to posting the next chapter in a few weeks!!!
> 
> LLAP!


	12. The Last Homely House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew of the Achievement take a moment to gather themselves before they reach the climax of their journey. However, they'll soon learn that there are promises that just can't be made, and some secrets might stay just that - secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY. This has taken me far longer than I expected and I cannot beg your forgiveness enough. Should all go to plan, the regular 2-week upload schedule should resume now that I've begun to straiten things out.
> 
> I cannot give enough praise to my beta, smthelj, who has been so patient with me and beyond amazing at pointing out my stupid mistakes. They have some stuff up on this site as well, so you should go check it out. They also have an absolutely beautiful art blog that I've linked to in previous chapters that you all NEED to go see.
> 
> Enjoy!

When he woke up, Ray cursed every character from every video game he could think of in his head. A night spent on the ground in freezing temperatures had left his joints and muscles sore. With a groan, the lad sat up and stretched his arms far above his head.

The sound of a throat being cleared beside him made Ray freeze and turn his head to meet the gaze of a not too happy Alani.

“I hate you.”

The words were slightly slurred through the Morylonian’s accent, and his tired eyes and the deadpan tone of his voice showed that the poor guy probably hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.

Ray slowly lowered his arms and gulped before stammering out an apology and quickly standing from their makeshift sleeping area. Well, as quickly as his sore legs could right themselves.

Captain Ramsey pulled himself up and stretched out his own appendages, grimacing slightly at the multiple pops and creaks. He was definitely not getting any younger, that was for sure.

A quick assessment of his crew slowly but surely pulling themselves out of sleep eased whatever worry had been plaguing his mind. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Morylonians, it was just an odd situation and he was far too much of a father for his own good.

The patrol members gathered themselves much more quickly than the humans. Even the Elder was up and ready to continue before Gavin got his bearings.

The young man felt any trace of the previous night’s chill leave his body as he was once again bathed in the humid heat of the planet. It did wonders to soothe the headache he had gained from his disturbed sleep.

The Elder waved his hand in a flippant motion to signal their departure. “Come, my friends. We are close to _Dominia._ If we hurry, we may make it before midday.”

Without a word, the patrol members fell into their organized positions around the still groggy Achievement crew and the party moved forward once again.

Gavin walked in somewhat of a daze. Not only was his brain still clouded with sleep, but a feeling of discomfort lingered in the aftermath of his nightmare. He couldn’t remember any specifics of it, but the vague shapes and sounds ghosted around his thoughts.

Mogar walked beside him, lost in his own thoughts. Once again he was clicking his fangs, something Mykail, the patrol member closest to him had told him to knock off twice already. It was a lost cause though; Mogar would stop for about ten minutes before clicking again.

He honestly couldn’t help it. The thought of parting ways in Dominia made his stomach twist with anxiety. Internally he scolded himself. He was a warrior, for goodness sake! He shouldn’t be fretting like a high-strung mother.

With a harsh growl, he snapped his jaw shut and clenched it, determined to stop his habit.

The noise startled Gavin out of his daze and he jumped slightly, hand flying to rest over his concealed phaser. “Christ alive, don’t do that.”

Mogar mumbled an apology though his teeth and the two fell into silence once again.

In fact, the entire party remained rather quiet for the remainder of the journey.

(~~~)

Eventually the trees began to thin and more light filtered through the canopy. Through the foliage, they could begin to see vast, sweeping grassland. It wasn’t long before the group stepped out of the cover of trees.

Off in the distance, a tall tower jutted from the horizon. As they approached it, the brick pattern of the tower and the newly visible walls surrounding it became clearer, as well as the multiple guards scattered across the battements. A large gate made of metal bars showed the entrance to the city.

Alani broke from his position in the party and ran ahead. He stopped a few meters from the gate, raised his spear and shouted to the guards atop the wall. A prolonged silence answered, but was broken eventually by the loud creak of the gate being raised.

The Elder slowed his pace to fall back to where Geoff walked. A contented smile graced his face as he swept his arm in front of himself. “Welcome to Dominia, Captain Ramsey. The last city before the Royal City, and the place you and your crew will have the chance to rest before your meeting with Morranis.”

A mixture of relief and excitement flooded Geoff’s chest. His crew could finally get the rest they desperately needed as well as perhaps stock up on some supplies. However, this was also their final day of certainty. Whatever would happen after this was a mystery. It could be peace, or it could be war: nothing was certain. Geoff felt terror flash across his mind at the though..

Yet, as he looked over the haggard and distant faces of his crew, Geoff decided to allow himself the luxury of enjoying the rest they were about to have and pushed his anxieties to the back of his mind. They deserved it, even if it was only for a short while.

Gavin, who had yet to shake his distracted thoughts, almost ran into Jack when he stopped to get a closer look at the city walls as they passed. Luckily, Mogar was still keeping an eye on him and pulled him aside before he could run the First Officer over.

“Whoa, uh. Thanks. Wasn’t paying attention.” He said as he shook his head in an attempt to clear his head.

Mogar glanced at him appraisingly. “I can see. You’ve been out of it since this morning. Is everything alright?”

Gavin nodded, but didn’t look at the other man. Truthfully, he was uneasy, but it was just a trivial thing, nothing to worry others with, so he kept it to himself. However, Mogar was not an idiot.

The wild man stepped in front of Gavin, halting him in his steps and fixing him with a serious look. “Gavin.”

It was just one word, but the tone was clear. Talk, now.

The lieutenant pursed his lips and glanced past Mogar to the rest of the party that had continued without them farther into the city.

“We shouldn’t lose-”

“I know where they’re going. We’ll catch up.”

Gavin had to resist making a whining noise. He really didn’t want to have this conversation right now. But it looked like that was the only way to get past the man in his way.

“I’m just…unsettled, I guess. My dream from last night is stuck in my head and I can’t seem to make heads or tails of it.” He said with a sigh.

Mogar raised an eyebrow with a small smirk. “Really? That’s what you’ve been so lost in thought over? A silly dream?”

Gavin looked at him with slight irritation as Mogar began to chuckle. “What? It’s been bugging me! Don’t laugh! I didn’t like it!”

Mogar’s chuckles quieted and his smirk eased into a small smile. “I apologize. But, it’s such an odd thing to be worried over.” He at least had the decency to look a bit reproachful. “Forgive me?”

Gavin narrowed his eyes, but could already fell his irritation slipping away from that look. Damn this boy. However, maybe he was right. The dream was probably nothing and not worth getting worked up over. With a sigh, he let it go.

“Fine, I forgive you. For now. Now take me back to our group, you tosser.” He kept his face in look of mock indifference, but made sure his tone insinuated Mogar was actually forgiven.

(~~~)

“ _All of them need rooms? I think I can manage that, sir!”_ The cheery Morylonian woman who ran the Inn near the center of the city laughed as she wrote down the number of people in the rag-tag travel party.

The Elder thanked her and handed her a satchel containing more than enough payment for a night’s stay for all of them. He then turned to Geoff.

“You and your crew should sleep soundly here. Please, feel free to explore the city. Dominia is a vibrant and active place. Most of the inhabitants know some Standard as well, so communication should not be too much of an issue.”

“We cannot thank you enough, Elder.” Geoff said with a bright smile.

With a laugh the Elder turned toward a set of stairs that led up to the guestrooms of the Inn. “It is my pleasure Captain. If you would excuse me, I am going to retire to my room to meditate.” And with that, he disappeared up the stairs.

After the crew of the Achievement had dropped their bags off in their respective rooms, they congregated down in a small lounge-like area on the first floor. The patrol members had either retired to their own rooms or left to explore the city, leaving Mogar as the only native among them.

The sun was still up, but it was low in the sky, close to setting. Soon it would be getting cold again.

As a result of some discussion, Gavin, Ray, and Mogar had been chosen to go to the city market and collect some food for the next day.

The three lads made their way through the city, gradually becoming accustomed to the stares and whispers from the citizens as they passed.

The market was rather large. Booths and tents lined cobblestone pathways and some peddlers even carried their wares around on trays. It reminded Gavin of ancient Earth. Honestly, much of the planet did.

Mogar was able to lead them to the food stalls easily. However the two humans only stared at the supposed “food”. None of it resembled anything like the food of Earth. Not a bit.

There were round things and square things and things with no discernible shape. And nearly everything was brightly colored.

Mogar snorted at their confused and awe-struck expressions, taking it upon himself to haggle and deal with the trader in charge. It was astounding how high the prices were, even with the recent harvest being so plentiful. It was a good thing the young prince was a good haggler.

One long conversation and a few insults later, the three men walked away with enough food to feed the party for at least two days.

“Wow, that was impressive. I couldn’t understand a word you were saying, but you had that guy in a bind, dude.” Ray complimented  Mogar as they made their way back, carrying baskets full of food.

Mogar shrugged, well, shrugged as best he could with his arms full. “He was asking ridiculous prices. All I had to do was mention how shitty his _kina_ looked compared to the ones two tents down.”

Gavin laughed. Not only at the effectiveness of Mogar’s tactic, but at the swear that left his mouth. He had begun to pick up on Mogar’s affinity for swearing.

Just before they left the market area completely, Gavin’s ears picked up what sounded like a voice singing some tune. He paused and looked around, trying to find the source.

Ray noticed his pause and stopped as well. “Hey Gav, you alright?”

“Yeah, I just thought I heard music.”

Mogar looked around. “You do. There’s a uh…singer around this corner. Did you want to go see?”

Gavin nodded. “Sure, we’ve still got time before the sun’s down. You up for it, Ray?”

Ray nodded and followed as Mogar lead them down a path and around a corner.

Nestled a little ways off the main street was a small platform. On it was seated an older-looking Morylonian with some type of odd stringed instrument. He plucked out a flowing tune with his eyes closed.

With him stood a young Morylian girl. She was dressed rather raggedly compared to others in the city, but she held herself strongly. Her voice was high and flitting as it floated around the open space.

Gavin was captivated, though he had no clue what she was singing The music was like nothing he had ever heard on Earth, not even like the ancient music he had studied in school from thousands of years ago.

“It’s a blessing of sorts.”

Mogar’s quiet voice brought Gavin’s attention back to him.

“Huh?” He responded, stupidly.

Mogar chuckled and tilted his head toward the girl. “The song is meant to wish luck and good fortune on those who hear it.”

Gavin nodded in understanding and looked at Ray, who seemed just as interested.

They stayed until the girl’s voice drifted off quietly and the song finished.

The gathered audience patted their hands over their chests lightly and the girl smiled as she gestured for the man to play another tune.

Mogar took this opportunity to pull the humans away before they were captivated once again.

“That gesture was our equivalent of clapping. It means that the performance has touched your being…your soul if you will.”

Ray and Gavin shared a look before shifting the baskets in their arms to mimic the movement.

Mogar caught it out of the corner of his eye and smiled widely as a warm feeling filled his chest.

By the time they made it back, everyone but Jack had gone to their rooms. The bearded man took the baskets from them, saying he would take inventory for the next day and suggested they go get some sleep. They would definitely need their rest.

Gavin groaned as he fell into the soft bed, beyond grateful that it was not the jungle floor. The pillows and mattress were filled with some type of feathers and the blanket was almost like wool. It was heaven as far as the young Brit was concerned.

It wasn’t long at all before he drifted off into sleep. No thoughts of his dream or the uneasiness that came with it ever surfaced in his mind.

(~~~)

The next morning was a flurry of activity.

Gavin – _most certainly did not_ \- scream when Alani burst into his room at the crack of dawn with a new cloak and a small pallet of red paste.

“This is your…uh…cloak. For travel with The Elder.” He stuttered in his rough Standard as he set the clothing item down and held the pallet as Gavin raised himself from the comfort of the bed.

He swiped some of the paste onto his fingers and before Gavin could process what he was doing, the young warrior swiped three lines on each of his cheeks and one down his chin.

Gavin squawked and jumped back, nearly falling on the floor. “Bloody hell! Warn a guy next time, would you?”

Alani frowned in confusion, but rolled his eyes and left the room, taking Gavin’s old cloak with him.

Left alone and far to confused for having been so wildly awoken, Gavin pouted and walked over to examine his new cloak.

It was around the same length as the other one; however this one was a deep burgundy, similar to the color the Elder wore. There were a few swirls of black accents, but other than that, the decoration was plain.

Like this other cloak, there was a tie to hold it together. However, unlike his other cloak, the strings were made of a rather silky material and refused to stay tied, no matter how tight he knotted them. Eventually, Gavin gave up and gathered his pack, going down to meet the others.

Once he reached the first floor, he noticed not only that he was the last one down, but also that no one else seemed to have trouble with the ties on their cloaks.

 

Mogar noticed his arrival and flicked his eyes down to the untied cloak stings with a smirk that Gavin was beginning to recognizes meant _“I see you’re trying, but it’s not working and it’s kind of funny.”_

“Would you like some help, Gavin?” He offered with a hint of humor in his voice.

Gavin’s face reddened lightly. “If you wouldn’t mind.” He muttered.

Like before, Mogar’s fingers swiftly tied the strings and he stepped back.

However, the smug look on his face dropped when the strings slipped from their knot just as before. Even after three more attempts, the strings just would not stay tied, and it frustrated Mogar.

Now it was Gavin’s turn to look at his friend with a look of “ _I told you so.”_

Mogar took a deep breath and racked his brain to think of a solution. It came easily enough as he looked down at the jeweled clasp holding his own cloak closed.

It resembled an eye with a red jewel as the pupil. A linked chain allowed for adjustments and hung in a loop. It was one of the last, if not the only, remnant he had of his life as a royal. The last gift his mother had given him before he was banished.

He hesitated to remove it, but he also felt a strange urge to give Gavin something to carry with him to the Royal city. If he couldn’t be there in person, maybe this was the next best thing.

He gently removed the clasp and tied the string of his own cloak before looking at Gavin. He reached over and clasped the ends of cloak together, his fingers lingering on it for barely a second before he drew his hand back.

“That is very important to me, Gavin. My _makti_ gave it to me, so I expect it back.”

Gavin’s brow shot up in surprise as he looked from the clasp back to Mogar. The sentimentality in the small action of merely helping him close his cloak made his throat tighten. At the same time, a feeling of comfort filled him and he pulled Mogar into a tight hug, not really caring if the others saw.

“Thank you.”

Mogar hugged him back just as tightly, but the recently ever-present feeling of dread floated around in him like a permanent fixture on his being.

“Can you promise me something?” He murmured into Gavin’s shoulder.

An inquisitive noise answered him.

“Can…can you promise me you’ll come back?”

Gavin’s entire body froze. Every feeling he had been dwelling on in the week or so prior came rushing back to him. So too did the details of his nightmare in the jungle. A flash of Dan’s face as he said “ _I could really lose you out here”_ was accompanied by the urge to hide.

For the first time since he had set foot on the Achievement and begun his life among the stars, Gavin did not want to be there. He wanted to be back in London with Dan in their apartment, eating pizza and having late night cram sessions for exams. No kings, no warriors, no threats. He wanted to be back on Earth.

His voice deserted him, leaving him unable to vocally answer Mogar, so instead his grip tightened as he buried his head in his friend’s warm shoulder.

Can you promise me you’ll come back?

_No…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop! And we're off to the races! The future of our (mostly) fearless crew hangs in the balance.
> 
> I hope you stick around to see this through! Thank you for reading, and i'll see you all again soon!
> 
> LLAP!


	13. Sometimes Before It Gets Better, the Darkness Gets Bigger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know that feeling you get when you go to face the final boss in a game? Our boys are absolutely drowning in that feeling.  
> But will they swim to the top? Or will their lungs fill with unfulfilled promises?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SAID IT WOULDN'T BE LONG AND I LIED. I LIED THROUGH MY FREAKING TEETH AND YOU GUYS DON'T DESERVE THAT.
> 
> I'm honestly so sorry. My university work has jammed my life full of stuff i can't avoid and lately I haven't wanted to do much of anything but sleep when I can.
> 
> THAT BEING SAID, I WILL NEVER ABANDON THIS STORY WITHOUT NOTIFICATION.
> 
> If I ever lose interest or motivation for this (WHICH I HAVEN'T) I will post a note about it.  
> But until that happens (PROBABLY NEVER), this story is still a go.
> 
> ALL PRAISE TO SMTHELJ WHO IS A HEAVEN SENT ANGEL OF A BETA.
> 
> I won't promise the next chapter within two weeks, but i'll work for that to the best of my abilities.
> 
> I hope this was worth at least some of the wait...

Ryan almost wanted to give Gavin a hug.

Since they had left Dominia, the young Brit had had one of the most downtrodden looks on his face. The CMO hadn’t really caught the exchange he had with Mogar, but he had noticed the somber mood it had put the lad in.

Ray, who was walking alongside Ryan in the formation they had established when they left the city, noticed the change in his friend’s mood as well. He fidgeted with his cloak and kept casting worried glances behind him at Gavin.

Ryan could almost visibly see Ray’s urge to ask Gavin about his conversation with Mogar, but from his own experiences, he knew Gavin just needed some space for the moment.

“Just leave him be for now,” Ryan whispered to Ray. “It’ll just make things worse if you pester him.”

Ray just sighed with a concerned frown.

“Dude, he’s my friend. Whatever Mogar said to him really messed him up,” he whispered back, crossing his arms over his chest. “But, fine. I’ll wait. If whatever bear-boy said is as bad as the things I’ve come up with in my head, I’m going to fight him.”

Ryan nearly snorted at the mental image of Ray and his noodle-like arms trying to fight Mogar. Instead, he gently patted his shoulder with a light smile on his face.

“I know. Gavin’s my friend and crewmate as well. And I wouldn’t worry too much. Gavin means the galaxy to Mogar, so I don’t think a fight will be necessary.”

Ray rolled his eyes, but nodded in agreement.

“Man, Gav is so oblivious it’s beyond frustrating.”

Ryan silently agreed.

“What are you two whispering about?”

Jack, who was walking in front of them with Geoff, had turned to them with his brow raised in question.

Ray and Ryan shared a quick look before Ryan just smiled.

“Ray was complaining about not having his PADD or his games.”

Ray quickly picked up his friend’s fib, grateful he wouldn’t have to explain why they were gossiping like cadets. “But this is so boring! We’ve been walking for hours!”

“It’s been thirty minutes.”

“HOURS!”

(~~~)

Before they set out for the city, The Elder and Alani had spent a few moments to school the humans on the mannerisms and character of the escort patrol they would be mimicking. While, they would have preferred more time to brush up on the Morylonian commands, they were forced to make do with the brief overview.

After a good while of walking, Alani, the only other Morylonian that had come with them and who currently lead their formation, shouted back to the crew in his harsh native tongue.

From the miniscule amount of Morylonian the Achievement crew had learned to recognize, this order was clearly one of “ _Stop talking_ ”.

That would have to mean that they would soon be, or perhaps they already were, in an area that no longer saw Standard in a very nice light. And should the fact that they were human become known before their meeting with Morranis, well…it would most likely end badly.

Mouths snapped shut and an air of seriousness fell heavily over the party.

Gavin almost gagged on the tension. Or maybe that was his own nerves choking him.

They proceeded forward silently, passing through forests and grasslands at a quick pace, eager to reach their destination.

Once they did, Gavin had to fight to keep himself silent..

The city had a wall around it, similar to many of the cities they’d seen and passed, however, none of them could compare to the grandeur just the wall itself gave off.

Gavin could only describe the look of it by way of a mixture of glass and marble. It shone in the hot Morylonian sun with an intensity that made the humans blink and avert their eyes every so often.

The cloudy white color of the wall spun with insets of blue and green. If he swept his gaze too quickly, it almost looked like a solid wall of water.

If this was just the outside wall, Gavin shivered in nervous anticipation at the prospect of what the inside would look like.

The gate in the wall was made of a solid metal. Jewels of all sorts decorated it and sparkled in the light.

As their formation approached the gate, at least a dozen armed guards assembled above it, training their weapons on the group.

The crew tensed under their cloaks, but forced their faces into masks of military-like blankness.

They halted a good ten meters away from the gate. A stern-looking guard with scars littering his bare chest and arms approached them with a long stride. His right eye was a milky white with two dark scars running across it.

His good eye scanned over the party and fixed itself on Alani. His voice was deep and rough as he addressed him.

“ _It’s been a while, Alani. We’ve been expecting the Elder; however, this is not the usual procession, is it?”_

Alani held his ground before the intimidating guard, who was at least a head taller than him. If anything, his expression was close to that of boredom.

“ _They’re a new squad that needed some field training, Jacobian. You don’t let your Hunters out without a little experience of their own, do you? Besides, we’ve only come from the town over; the Elder has been in no danger. Now, if you please, His Majesty is expecting him.”_

The guard, Jacobian, sneered at Alani.

“ _I’d watch my attitude if I were you, cousin of mine. Someone with a temper might not tolerate it one day.”_

Alani didn’t respond, but raised his brow and tilted his head toward the city, obviously done with this exchange.

With an irritated growl, Jacobian jerked his hand in a quick gesture to some of the guardsmen by the gate and stepped to the side. The sound of metal creaking filled the air and the massive gate swung open slowly.

Without another glance at Jacobian, Alani led the procession forward.

(~~~)

Gavin’s imagination couldn’t touch the splendor of the Royal City.

The buildings were made of similar material to the wall, but instead of white, they were a shimmery black. The swirls of green and blue were still present, tying them together. And in the center, a Palace with spiraling towers stood tall and proud.

The only thing that tainted the beauty of the city was the noise. Or, to be specific, the near lack of any noise at all.

Where all the cities they had passed through before had been filled with the pleasant sounds of citizens milling about and living, the Royal City seemed to be a ghost town.

No vendors in the streets and the few citizens that passed made no conversation, even amongst themselves.

Another difference that stood out to Gavin was the way the citizens in this city were clothed.

Their robes were rich, dark in color and looked heavy. Jewels adorned various places on their heads and arms. Not to mention their feet were wrapped in fur boots that shimmered a rainbow color in the light, giving Gavin a chill as he remembered the fur of the Vhiva that had almost ended his life.

All in all, the city seemed cold and distant.

Gavin couldn’t wait to be done with this meeting and out of this city.

(~~~)

The inside of the Palace was just as impressive, if not more so than the outside.

A guard had met them at the entrance and led them through corridor after corridor. When they finally reached the door to the throne room, Gavin was sure they’d walked in circles for ten minutes.

The guard reached to open the door, but leapt back as it flung open with a force than startled everyone in the party.

A young Morylonian stormed out into the corridor, a terrifying snarl twisting his face as he turned his angry eyes on the party.

The Achievement crew took him in with slight shock.

He looked strikingly like Mogar, but with a slightly more muscled build and more height. His dark curls were slightly longer and pulled back into a type of ponytail.

When his eyes landed on the Elder, his angry expression fell slightly, but his posture remained tense.

“ _Greetings, Elder, His Majesty has been waiting for you.”_ He said, spitting the royal title with venom.

The Elder smiled gently at him.

“ _It is good to see you again, Prince Madai. You’ve grown since I last saw you. You’re taller than your brother, now.”_

At the mention of his brother, the remaining anger left the young Prince’s face. He looked to the guard that had been leading the party and waved him away. Once he was gone, Madai turned back to the Elder with wide eyes.

“ _You…you’ve seen Mogar? Is he okay? Tell me.”_

The Elder held a withered finger to his lips, but smiled.

“ _We will talk after my meeting with your father. Now, run along, boy.”_

Madai frowned, but nodded and turned to make his way down the corridor.

The group watched him leave, slightly confused but once again focused on the task at hand.

The Elder opened the door to the throne room and entered, the humans following close behind.

(~~~)

The throne room matched the rest of the palace, lavishly furnished and decorated, but lacking in any sort of warmth or welcome.

The heavy silence of the room was broken only by the light shuffle of the group’s feet over the polished stone floor and the shout of a Morylonian guard announcing their arrival.

Seated on the tall, high-backed throne was an older-looking Morylonian, King Morranis. His long, dark hair was streaked heavily with silver and his tanned face was creased, showing his years.

Like the citizens of the city, he was dressed in heavy, luxurious robes that spilled across the throne and over the steps leading up to it. Deep greens mixed with burgundy and blue hues to create a beautiful swirling design.

As the group approached, it became clearer that the expression on the Morylonian was nothing short of furious. Long fangs glinted over his sneering lips.

_“I expected you earlier. I abhor being kept waiting, Elder.”_

Alani motioned for the party to halt and part, leaving a space for the Elder to continue through, towards the thrown.

The Elder held a pleasant smile on his face, not giving any negative attention to the King’s bitter greeting.

“My apologies, your Majesty. But I had very important matters to attend to before my arrival here.”

Upon hearing the Elder speak in his fluent Standard, Morranis’ eyes flashed in anger and a snarl ripped its way from his throat.

“ _How dare you speak that wretched filth in my presence. You may have the respect of my people and I, but do not think that puts you above my laws.”_

The Elder merely tilted his head with light nonchalance. 

“Once again, you have my sincerest apologies. However, if I were to speak in our tongue, my friends here would not understand, and their visit is of upmost importance to both them and us.”

He turned and gestured for Geoff to step forward; ignoring Morranis’ confused and angered expression.

Captain Ramsey took a steadying breath and made his way over to stand beside the Elder. With practiced ease, he bent his head and upper body respectfully toward Morranis in a quick bow before fixing him with a serious look.

“My name is Captain Geoffrey Ramsey of the USS Achievement. I am here on behalf of Starfleet Command with orders to negotiate peace with your planet and discuss the future interactions between your people and the United Federation of Planets.”

Morranis’ eyes widened in shock and his jaw went slack.

There had not been humans on this planet in ages. And yet, here one was, standing before him. He swept his eyes over to the rest of the patrol, which he had ignored upon their entry, having seen processional patrols millions of times before.

Surely enough, they were human as well. There were slight differences that set them apart from his people, but if one wasn’t looking closely enough, they would never notice.

The monarch closed his mouth with a snap and slowly rose to his feet, a serious gaze replacing his previous shock.

As he slowly approached the Captain, Gavin’s pulse began to race. This was it.

This was make-or-break time.

Morranis stopped less than two feet from Geoff, his bright gold eyes never wavering from the Captain’s face. After a few tense moments, he spoke.

“Welcome, Captain. It has been a very long time since your people were last on our planet. I am afraid that I cannot say it is a nice surprise to see humans again.”

His eyes flicked to the rest of the crew, and then quickly back to Geoff.

How Geoff remained so calm was beyond Gavin. But, the Captain had experience, and he could only stand back and trust that all would end well.

Ramsey nodded tersely.

“I understand. I am aware that our people did not part of friendly terms. That is why I am here. Why we are here. Starfleet would like peace, and we are hoping that you feel the same.”

A dark look spread across the King’s face and a frown pulled at his lips.

“Therein lays the problem, Captain. You humans are so quick to advocate for peace. Yet, for my people, war is and always had been a part of our culture. You cannot change what is simply because you do not care for it.”

He lowered his head slightly, moving closer to Geoff so that their faces were mere inches apart. The intimidating look would have made Ray faint on the spot.

“We will not change. We are not a _project_ for your Federation.”

Jack could practically see Geoff gritting his teeth in an attempt to keep his cool and not lash out at the monarch. They had to complete their mission. Peace or not, all they had to do was talk, then they could leave and be back on the Achievement by dinner. That is, if they weren’t killed first.

After taking a few seconds to mentally compose himself, Geoff lifted his chin slightly and met Morranis’ stare with one just as piercing.

“That is not why we are here. We simply want contact between our people and yours to be peaceful once more. My crew and I are simply the messengers.”

Morranis straightened once more and moved around Geoff to slowly walk among the rest of the Achievement crew. His sweeping eyes observed each of them with suspicious contempt.

It was difficult to remain composed under the King’s harsh and judging gaze, but Jack and Ryan maintained their almost-calm expressions and forced themselves to look attentive but controlled.

Gavin and Ray on the other hand could barely contain their fearful expressions. Ray’s eyes were blown wide as he stared straight past everyone and everything, sweat tickling the back of his neck.

Gavin’s eyes flew around the room, focusing on a new subject every second. The only thing he avoided was Morranis. Maybe if he didn’t look at him, he would disappear.

That became impossible, however, when the Morylonian ruler moved to stand directly in front of him, filling his field of vision with his aging face. It was all Gavin could focus on now, and it was disturbing.

He could see the features Mogar had inherited; such as the shape of his nose and the freckles on his wrinkled cheeks. But his eyes were what freaked Gavin out. His eyes were so different. Where Mogar’s were dark and warm, the King’s were bright and cold. And currently filled with a look that gave Gavin a feeling of dread as they swept over his form.

Anger, surprise, and some sort of triumphant look Gavin couldn’t place mixed together in his golden irises.

With a swift jerk, Morranis made his way back to the throne.

“You have given me much to think about, Captain.” He said as he took his seat once more. “If you would allow me to meditate on my decision, I will have an answer for you by tomorrow.”

Brief confusion flashed in Geoff’s eyes, but it was gone in an instant.

“Thank you for your time, your Majesty.”

Morranis didn’t reply, but he nodded and gestured to his guard at the door.

The guard opened the door, an obvious signal that the party was dismissed.

As they filed out, the Elder held back to take his place at the back of the group. Just before he exited, Morranis called out a final parting statement.

“ _Dear Elder, do give my regards to the young Prince.”_

The Elder paused at the threshold of the door.

A hundred thoughts raced through his mind, but he voiced none of them.

With a simple turn and nod of his head, he glided from the room and the door shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of the frying pan and into the fire, eh?  
> Our boys have some rough seas ahead, but I hope you'll stick it out along side them.  
> I honestly cannot thank you all enough for even glancing at this.
> 
> Happy (early) Halloween, and I'll see you all soon.
> 
> LLAP


	14. Homesick at Space Camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One problem after another for our valiant heroes. Splitting up never worked for Scooby-Doo, but hey, the millionth time's the charm, right?....Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the update on the story some of you have probably forgotten about!!  
> Don't worry, we're past the half-way point with this one!  
> I hope you enjoy and I will have the next chapter up soon!
> 
> Eternal gratitude to smthelj my beta. They have the most patience and best eye for mistakes and this story wouldn't be anywhere close to good if it weren't for them.

Gavin didn’t think he could feel much happier to once again feel the Morylonian heat. While the inside of the castle had been significantly cooler than the outside, Gavin felt choked and suffocated within the polished halls.

  
The Elder joined them not long after they passed the castle doors. His withered face was hard and his eyes held an anxious look that Gavin didn't like one bit.

  
"You cannot stay on the planet tonight, Captain Ramsey. I'm afraid Morranis knows more than he lets on."

  
Geoff's brows shot up.  
"What do you mean?"

  
The Elder's eyes darted around, checking for the Hunter spies that would no doubt be following them soon.

  
"I believe he is aware of your interactions with Mogar. It would be best if you return to your ship and depart in the morning."

  
Gavin's heart sank. 

He'd been so ready to get back to Mogar, show him he was safe and sound, but now, that'd only put the wild boy in more danger.

  
Geoff was silent, his face hard with contemplation. Eventually he sighed quietly and nodded.  
"I guess that is best for the time being. Thank you for all of your help, Elder." He said sincerely as he offered his hand to him. "The Achievement is forever in your debt."

The Elder gently took the Captain's hand.  
"I wish you all the luck in the galaxy, Captain."

With that, he released his hand and stepped away from the crew, a somewhat sad look on his aged face. Alani stood next to him with a controlled, but obviously disheartened face.  
Geoff pulled his communicator out of its concealed spot on his hip and flipped it open.  
"Ramsey to Achievement. We are requesting transport back to the ship. Five to beam up."  
The slightly crackled voice of Lieutenant Dooley answered back.  
"Achievement here, sir. Beaming up."  
Gavin had almost forgotten what it felt like to be beamed to the ship.  
He quickly remembered that he didn't quite like it.  
(~~~)

Mogar walked through the city market, not really even looking at any of the stalls or vendors.

This outing was supposed to be a distraction, but it wasn't working as well as the native boy wished.

All he could think about was Morranis' anger and how likely it was that he would slaughter the humans right there in the throne room.   


If they even made it that far.

Mogar growled softly to himself and turned towards the path to the city’s gates. The sun would be setting soon, but he hadn’t heard or seen anything that might announce the return of the excursion party.

It wasn’t long that he’d been pacing at the gates when he noticed a fragment of movement from the tree line in the distance. His heart jumped into his throat as the steady stream of _“Gavin Gavin Gavin Gavin Gavin Gavin Gavin”_ ran through his mind.

However, his excitement was short-lived, and quickly turned to dread when he noticed that there were only two people approaching the city, and by their speed, Mogar could tell they were Morylonian.

The grim expressions Alani and the Elder wore as they made their way to him made Mogar’s heart sink from his throat to the pit of his stomach. Rage began stirring in his chest.

“ _Where are they?”_ His voice was quiet but unwavering as his gaze flicked between the two men.

The Elder raised a withered hand in a calming gesture. “ _They are safe. Worry not about the humans. It is you who are in danger now.”_

Confusion and relief flooded Mogar’s head at an almost dizzying speed.

Safe. They were safe. But he…wasn’t?

“ _What do you mean? I’m fine.”_ Mogar replied with a downward twitch of his lips.

Alani shook his head. “ _I do not doubt we were followed by Hunters. Morranis knows you’re involved with the humans. They returned to their ship for now, to keep them away from whatever Morranis is planning. And believe us, he IS planning.”_

Rage flooded Mogar’s veins. The thought of his deranged father using his friends against him ignited a passion he hadn’t felt in a while.

“ _Let the Hunters come.”_ He growled through his bared fangs. _“I will back down from no one.”_

(~~~)

Gavin sorted through the data he pulled from the memory chip of his tricorder with mechanical movements and a quickly waning interest.

Sitting back at his navigation station- hah, that rhymed- was nothing more than an agitation. After having been running around on a primitive planet for nearly a week, returning to the Achievement had felt a bit well, alien.

The geographical data that Gavin had gathered would eventually be compiled into a collective file on Morylon that would be sent to Starfleet for further archiving.

As the last of the data from the memory chip transferred to the console, Gavin reached into the pouch he had kept the extra tricorder in and paused when his hand grasped only the empty holster.

He frowned and twisted around in his chair, searching the ground around him in case it had simply popped off and onto the floor. No such luck.

With a sigh, the Brit turned to Jack, who was filling in for Geoff while the Captain was in a meeting call with some higher-ups from Starfleet.

“Permission to run to my quarters very quickly, sir? I seem to have left some of my equipment there.”

Jack nodded. “Of course. No rush, Mr. Free.”

Gavin nodded respectfully and made his way to the turbo-lift.

Once the doors hissed shut, Gavin allowed himself to slump against the wall and rub his hands down his face. The day could not end soon enough, and neither could his shift. As fascinating as he found Morylon to be, all it was doing was reminding him of Mogar.

Back in his quarters, the young Lieutenant nearly tore the entire room apart looking for the Tricorder. Where in the galaxy could the stupid thing have gone? Gavin flopped into the chair at his desk and strained his mind to think of any place it could possibly be.

He had it when they beamed down for the mission. It was attached to the holster at his waist. He barely used it, so it should have been right there like always.

Unless…unless he had maybe dropped it during the mission?

“Oh bollocks.”

(~~~)

Captain Ramsey’s face looked like he had aged ten years after his meeting. It would have been a grievous understatement to say that Starfleet was unhappy. They wanted results and they wanted them now.

Jack had graciously returned command to the Captain upon his return to the bridge, taking his own position behind him.

Geoff looked over his crew with tired eyes. They have been working hard and deserved a break. As soon as this mission was over, he was going to find the nearest Starbase and allow for them to get some much needed rest and relaxation.

When his gaze passed over Ray, who was half-studying the panel in front of him and half-staring out the window, it locked onto Gavin’s empty chair.

“Jack, where is Lieutenant Free?”

Jack replied with nonchalance. “He returned to his quarters to retrieve a tripod he had forgotten.”

“Uh-huh.” Geoff grunted. “And how long ago was that?”

Jack hummed in thought. “About twenty minutes ago, sir.”

Geoff rolled his eyes and looked down at the keypad on his chair. He punched in the code for Gavin’s room.

“Lieutenant Free, this is your Captain. Have you found your tripod yet? Or are you just goofing around?”

Gavin, who had been silently panicking, jumped at the voice that emerged from his intercom.

He stood and shakily made his way over to answer.

“Free here, sir. Um, there is a slight, well, major problem. You see, I seem to have dropped my tricorder back down on Morylon.”

Geoff groaned inwardly, but attempted to maintain a calm voice.

“Was there anything important on it?”

Gavin bit his lip before he answered. “Yes, sir. Multiple files on the planet’s biology and geography, not to mention a full diagnostic on Mogar’s biological makeup.”

 The Captain sighed angrily. They needed that information badly. Starfleet would be on him like mad if they lost that. Great.

Well…a quick beam down couldn’t hurt, right?

“Meet me in the transporter room. Ramsey out.”

Standing from his chair, Geoff called out to Ray.

“Narvaez! Come on, we’re taking a quick trip planet-side.”

Ray jerked out of his day-dreaming and looked to his Captain with confusion. “But sir, is it safe?”

Geoff shrugged as he walked into the turbo-lift with Ray right behind him.

“Just as safe as we’d be if Starfleet learns we’ve lost important data.”

(~~~)

Gavin chewed his thumbnail nervously as he awaited the Captain in the transporter room. Lieutenant Dooley had given him an odd look as he explained why he was there, but offered neither consolation nor any sort of mocking.

The Brit jumped as the door to the transporter room slid open and Captain Ramsey stalked in with a confused and anxious looking Ray at his heels.

“I have half a mind to scold you, Gavin. But in all honesty, I just want to get this over with.” He said as he walked over to Dooley and handed him a PADD with specific coordinates. “Beam us down here and wait. We shouldn’t be very long. Ms. Tuggey has us on a comm. link as well.”

Before he could say anymore, a chirp from the intercom pulled the Captain’s attention.

“Captain Ramsey here.” He said as he pressed the button.

“Captain,” Lindsay’s voice chimed through the speaker,” Starfleet Command is demanding an audience with you. They insist it is of the upmost importance.”

Geoff scrubbed at his face in frustration. Nothing could ever just go his way, could it?

“Okay, okay. Tell them I’ll be with them shortly. Ramsey out.”

With a serious face, he turned to the two confused Lieutenants.

“Now listen, lads. I’m putting you both smack in the middle of Dominia. You are to look for Gavin’s tricorder and absolutely nothing else. Do not leave the city, under any circumstance. If you can’t find it, you can’t find it. Return to the ship immediately afterwards. Am I understood?”

Ray and Gavin snapped into a salute with a simultaneous shout of “Aye!”

With a brisk nod, Geoff turned on his heel and left the room.

Once he was gone, Ray looked to Gavin.

“Man, we are so boned.”

Gavin could only sigh and nod his own agreement.

(~~~)

How Jeremy managed to beam them into an empty alleyway, Gavin would never know.

Ray lightly touched the phaser on his hip and looked around with caution.

“We shouldn’t be far from the Inn we stayed at.” He said. “Hopefully it just fell off there when you were changing into your patrol getup.”

Gavin nodded and started towards the direction he guessed lead toward their intended destination.

It didn’t take long for them to find the Inn, but the odd stares from the citizens of Dominia definitely hurried them along. With their Starfleet uniforms instead of the disguises they had the first time they had traversed the city, they stood out tremendously.

They made their way around to the side of the building and Gavin pulled out his PADD, pointing one end of it toward the building. The sensor on the end scanned through the primitive walls for any source of Starfleet technology.

Gavin pouted when the scan came up negative. He turned to Ray with a sigh.

“It’s not in there. Maybe it’s near the city gate?”

Ray shook his head. “I was thinking back near the market where we saw that musician.”

Gavin pursed his lips in thought. “What if we split up? It’s not too big of a city. We go and check both places and meet right back here in an hour.”

The Hispanic man hesitated, but eventually agreed. It would be faster this way.

“Alright. One hour, right back here.”

(~~~)

If Gavin could take back any words, they would be the ones he uttered when he said the city wasn’t too big. Honestly, it took him almost twenty minutes to reach the gates.

Luckily, there weren’t too many Morylonians near the gate, so Gavin could scan for his missing equipment without causing a ruckus.

With each negative scan, Gavin grew more and more frustrated and disheartened. Maybe it wasn’t even here. With his luck, it had fallen in some random forest on their way to the Royal city.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it at the moment. He’d better make his way back to meet Ray.

Out of all the things he could have happened to him as he turned to re-trace his steps back to the Inn, a swift strike to the back of the neck was not one Gavin would have picked.

The darkness that filled his vision and swiftly took his consciousness was highly unwanted as well.

(~~~)

Mogar stalked his way through Dominia in a red-tinted haze.

His rage from earlier that day had not faded and it drove him to patrol the city relentlessly. Any of the citizens could be Hunters. Anyone could be ready to show their true colors.

The slowly setting sun gave a good indication as to just how long he had been at this.

As he made another lap around the city, the wild boy nearly crashed right into a familiar mop of brown hair.

“ _What the-…_ Ray?” He said with surprise.

Ray turned to Mogar with wide and fearful eyes. Something was wrong, it was evident in his body language and facial expression.

“Mogar, oh my god. Have you seen Gavin?” He asked with a shaking voice.

Mogar’s eyes widened. “Gavin? What would he be doing down here? What are _you_ doing down here?”

Ray bit his lip and looked around anxiously, as if he was waiting for someone to appear.

“We came down to find Gavin’s tricorder. He dropped it somewhere and it has some really important stuff on it. We split up to look and we were supposed to meet back up after an hour. But that was _two hours ago_. He’s not answering his communicator either.”

Ice flooded Mogar’s veins. No, it wasn’t possible. They couldn’t have gotten past him, could they?

“Where was he last, Ray?” Mogar nearly hissed the question.

Ray bounced on his feet anxiously. “He said he was checking the city gates.”

As soon as the words were passed Ray’s lips, Mogar had taken off towards the gates at a speed that made his legs burn in exertion.

“ _No. Please no. NO!”_

He skidded to a stop near the gates and whipped his head around franticly. The dirt path around the entrance showed signs of a previous struggle - harsh footprints and deep gouges from someone digging their boots into the ground. Panic welled in his chest as he failed to spot the sandy-haired Brit.

“Gavin! GAVIN! GA-“

His harsh yelling cut off abruptly as he noticed something shiny on the ground.

Time almost stopped as Mogar approached the source of the shining. A cracked PADD lay on the dusty ground and beside it, a glimmering pin that held the insignia of the Hunters legion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah cliffhangers, my favorite.  
> I hope you enjoyed and I hope you'll stick around as I flesh out the ending to this thing!  
> In the end, someone is going to have to make a choice, and it won't be easy for anyone.  
> See you soon!
> 
> LLAP


	15. Ready, Aim, Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end. The darkest hour has come and the fate of Mogar, the Achievement crew, and Morylon hang in the balance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'VE UPDATED! YAY!  
> It's nearing the end you guys. The next chapter should be the last! I've got an epilogue planned too, so don't worry!  
> Thank you all so much for seeing this through with me. It means alot to me and I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I have writing!!  
> Anyway, on with the show!
> 
> I can never thank smthelj enough for being my beta reader for this journey and building this world along with me. All of my thanks forever!

You know, if Gavin was going to keep getting knocked out, he was going to have to rethink his eager attitude towards landing parties.

However, in his situation now, he was more worried about waking up again at all.

The young Lieutenant had not yet opened his eyes, feigning unconsciousness in order to get a better idea of his whereabouts and current situation.

He’d been kidnapped, that much was obvious. Someone must have nabbed him from Dominia’s gates. The ropes holding his wrists tightly together and his body wound to some sort of post gave him a clear indication that his captors didn’t want him going anywhere any time soon.

Since his return to reality, Gavin hadn’t heard a single sound, save for his own ragged breathing.

So, after assessing as much as he could from sound and feeling alone, the Brit slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

He was definitely back inside Morranis’ palace. He’d recognize the marble patterns and ornate throne anywhere.

The only thing missing was the mad king himself. There wasn’t even a single guard or servant in the room either. There must be some outside the door though, no doubt.

Sighing lightly, Gavin pulled against his restraints, checking his own mobility. His heart began to beat faster when the ropes didn’t budge an inch. He was stuck fast to this post and wasn’t moving anytime soon.

He was left with nothing to do but stew in his own thoughts until he was either rescued, or killed.

Fortunately, he didn’t get to dwell too long on the matter, because the doors to the throne room opened and Morranis entered.

He stalked his way across the polished floor, his cold eyes fixed on Gavin.

If he wasn’t already sitting, Gavin’s knees would have buckled from sheer fright of the Morylonian king. He was about to die, for sure!

But Morranis stopped about a foot away and stared down at the poor Starfleet officer with an air of triumph and authority.

“I’m glad you are awake, human. That will make this all the more interesting.”

Gavin swallowed thickly and tried to hold the royal’s gaze.

“W-what do you want from me?”

The king was silent for a moment before his face split in a terrifying replica of a smile.

“From you? Nothing. You’re just a pawn in this game, boy.”

Gavin shivered as his blood ran cold.

“U-under Starfleet Regulation 2456.09, I, Gavin David Free, give no consent to answer any-“

With shocking speed, Morranis’ hand shot forward, striking Gavin across the face and whipping his head violently to the side.

“I care nothing about Starfleet or its regulations.” Morranis hissed as he sneered at the shaking Lieutenant.

“You are a _pawn._ A match to spark a war. I should have done this ages ago when you humans first arrived.”

Slowly his sneer turned back into the twisted grin.

“No…it’s much more fun now. For now, I can be rid of two problems at once.”

Gavin flinched as Morranis reached toward him. But instead of striking him again, he grabbed Gavin’s chin and forced him to look up.

“I’ve had Hunters searching for my estranged son for so long. And now, the perfect bait lands right in front of me.”

Releasing Gavin’s chin roughly, Morranis reached into his robe and pulled out a familiar looking pin.

With sinking horror, Gavin realized that it was Mogar’s mother’s pin.

Morranis smirked.

“He’ll come for you. And when he does, neither of you is leaving here alive.”

(~~~)

The Elder sat calmly, his eyes following Mogar as the enraged boy tore the room apart, screaming obscenities and threats.

He had been like this since he had returned to Ray with the cracked PADD in his hand and a freshly renewed hatred in his heart.

Ray had quickly, and shakily, relayed the situation to Geoff, and he, Jack, and Ryan had beamed down as soon as they could grab their phasers.

The crew was down in the lobby of the inn, discussing how to deal with the fact that kidnapping Gavin was basically an act of war against the Federation.

Eventually, the Elder decided that Mogar had done enough and stood, approaching him slowly, but confidently.

“ _Mogar. Enough. Calm yourself.”_

The wild boy whipped his head to glare at his elder.

“ _Calm myself? They took Gavin! I will not be calm until every Hunter is dead and buried. No, not buried. Left to rot!”_

Even though his words were fierce and true, the Elder could see his body slowly but surely losing steam.

“ _I understand your distress, my boy.”_ He said as he rested a hand on Mogar’s heaving shoulders. “ _But this will not help Gavin. You need to be calm. You need your head clear if you are to save him from Morranis.”_

Mogar held his glare for a good while before his eyes began to fill with tears. His breath wheezed from his chest as he attempted to hold back sobs.

In all his life, he hadn’t cried once since his mother died. But here he was crying for the second time over this human who had managed to fix himself firmly into Mogar’s heart.

“ _I love him.”_

The Elder nodded with a small smile.

“ _I know. And you will save him.”_

(~~~)

To say Captain Ramsey was pissed would have been a gross understatement. To say he was terrified for Gavin’s safety would have been an even bigger understatement.

In all his years in Starfleet, Geoff had never dreamed of being this attached to any member of his crew. Yet, now, looking over the small group gathered, ready to go to war, his heart ached at the thought of losing any of them.

“Alright, men. You know as well as I do that from the moment Gavin was taken, we were at war with Morylon. Our mission now is to retrieve Lieutenant Free, and end this war before it can truly start. Whether that means surrender, or by force, we use any means necessary. Understood?”

“Aye, Captain!”

“Captain.”

Geoff turned to see Mogar standing at the foot of the staircase. He nodded to him.

“Yes, Mogar?”

The native boy approached the group of crewmen with a strange calmness, seeing as he was in a destructive rage when they arrived.

He took a deep breath before bowing low to the Captain.

“I would like to go with you on your mission, if you will allow it.”

Geoff raised an eyebrow at the gesture.

“Of course, lad. Why the sudden change in attitude?”

Mogar straightened himself and adjusted the strap of his sword’s holster.

“It is my fault that Gavin was taken. And there is little doubt in my mind that Morranis is expecting me to come for him. I will not back down from the challenge he has set before me. It is not in my blood.”

Ramsey assessed his demeanor for a moment before grinning.

“I would expect nothing less, my boy. And truthfully, we may need all the help we can get. It won’t be easy, but I believe we can do this.”

“We can.” Ryan said as his agreement. “But how exactly are we going to get to Morranis in the first place?”

Ray frowned. “Yeah, we aren’t just going to walk up and knock on the door, right?”

The room was silent as all eyes turned to Geoff.

The older Captain raised his brows appraisingly.

“Well…”

“Oh my God we’re going to knock on the door.”

(~~~)

After his third hour of captivity, Gavin was beginning to wish Morranis would just knock him out again.

The pain in his arms from being tied up had slowly gotten worse as time went on while the throbbing in his cheek from Morranis’ slap had ebbed into a dull soreness. Oh there would definitely be a bruise there.

The king had simply sat himself on the throne and twirled the stolen pin around in his fingers, awaiting the arrival of his guests.

Gavin was just starting to contemplate bashing his head against the marble post when a muffled uproar grabbed both his attention and Morranis’.

The aging Morylonian stood with an evil grin.

“They are here.”

As if on cue, the doors to the throne room burst open and Captain Ramsey lead his battle-ready group through.

“Morranis! You’ve declared war on the Federation. I am here to end it and take back my crewman.”

Gavin pulled violently against his restraints, thrashing as much as he could.

“Captain! Help!” He screamed, his voice ragged from fear and dehydration.

Mogar jerked his head to the source of Gavin’s voice and called out his name.

Morranis simply laughed and glided down the stairs of the throne, eyes fixed on the intruding party.

“I know exactly what I’ve done, Captain. And everything has gone just as I have planned it. I told you before that war is a part of my people. And on this day, I have given them just that.”

With a sudden flick of his wrist, the insane royal snapped his fingers with a wide grin.

Gavin looked around in confusion, but began to notice small movements around the room.

He was wrong before when he thought the throne room to be empty. Oh so very wrong.

There were Hunters everywhere. Fifteen at the least.

They emerged from behind posts and the throne. A few even literally stepped out of the shadows. The room was never empty, these Hunters were just masters of hiding.

The Achievement crew snapped to a position of protection, all facing away from each other in a circle as Mogar glared at Morranis with bared teeth.

Morranis met his gaze firmly.

“ _You had so much potential, Mogar. It drives me insane that you choose to waste it.”_

“ _Morranis, you were never sane to begin with!”_ Mogar growled back at his father.

The Morylonian king shook his head almost sadly.

“ _A pity. If only your feelings for that human boy hadn’t developed, I might have been able to save you. But such as it is, neither of you can live.”_

Rage flared once again in Mogar’s chest as he drew his sword in front of him, aiming the tip straight toward the king’s heart.

“ _You will not touch him again. Your reign is over.”_

“ _We shall see. Now…Die.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! Cliche and cheesy i know! But it was calling to me!  
> I hate leaving you guys on another cliff hanger, but this should be the last one!  
> See you next time!
> 
> LLAP!


	16. Live Long and Prosper, Mr.Free.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new beginning is on the horizon.  
> Fear, hope, love.  
> A final frontier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here you have it! The final chapter!  
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  
> I can't thank you all enough for finishing this out with me and sticking around for so long. I've loved this story and It means so much that you've read it.
> 
> None of this would have been possible without the best Beta in the world, smthelj. Bless.
> 
> Enjoy the finale! Thanks, and thanks again.

Geoff had never seen anything like it in his entire Starfleet career.

There was no signal that he could see, but suddenly the Hunters leapt towards them, flitting from their hiding places with claws, swords and fangs bared.

Geoff barely pulled his phaser out before the first Hunter was upon him.

The Captain didn’t have time to check the phaser’s setting, and fired straight into the Hunter’s stomach.

The Hunter fell with a shriek, his body twitching before going still. Geoff mentally sighed in relief that the blue light that signaled the ‘Stun’ setting was flipped on.

However, he didn’t have long before another Hunter was charging him.

Mogar, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate to attack with an obvious intent to kill. Rage flowed through him, turning his vision red and pushing morals to the wayside.

The Hunter in front of him, one who he had trained with forever ago, fell to the ground, blood spattering from his mouth and the deep gash in his chest left by Mogar’s sword.

The wild boy didn’t even bat an eye, his focus was on Morranis.

The Monarch stood up by his throne, a mad grin on his face as he watched the proceedings as if they were a silly performance. His gaze fell on Mogar, a challenge glinting in his cold eyes.

Poor Ray scrambled around the room, wildly firing his phaser in an attempt to get over to Gavin.

He slid to his knees beside the captive lieutenant and pulled a small pocket knife from his holster, sawing at the bonds around Gavin’s wrists, still firing his phaser with one hand.

Gavin’s eyes widened as he spotted a Hunter charging at them, her sword aimed at Gavin’s neck.

“RAY! ANY DAY NOW!”

“GOT IT!”

With a snap, Gavin’s hands were free. In a flash, he yanked his phaser out of the holster, firing right at the Hunter’s head.

Gavin watched in horror as the Hunter screamed in pain, falling to the ground with blood pooling around her head.

The red signal for the ‘Kill’ setting glared up at the shaking Brit.

“Oh God…”

Ray shook his friend and yanked him to his feet.

“We don’t have time for a freak out, Gav! Move it!”

Gavin stumbled to keep up with his crewmate, hastily switching his phaser to ‘Stun’.

Suddenly, he jerked back as a Hunter wielding a long knife jumped between him and Ray.

He yelped as the blade bit into his cheek, the Hunter just barely missing a vital hit at his throat.

The wound startled the Brit, making him lose his focus as the Hunter raised the blade again.

“ ** _GAVIN!_** ”

Gavin flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, both from anticipating the deadly blow and the shock of hearing his name screamed in such terror and rage.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, the sounds of fighting and phaser-fire echoing around the hall.

When he opened his eyes, Gavin stared at the blood covered blade protruding from the Hunter’s chest. The Hunter’s eyes were blown wide in surprise, arms raised still, blood streaming from their lips and chest.

Once they fell to the floor, the shaken Brit locked his green gaze to Mogar’s dark one.

The Morylonian boy was terrifying. Blood splashed across his body, fangs bared viciously, and claws clenched tightly around his sword. However, the look in his eyes switched quickly from rage to relief as he laid eyes on Gavin’s relatively unharmed form.

“ _Gavin_.”

The name was said with such emotion that Gavin felt tears start to well up in the corners of his eyes.

“I’m alright. I’m…I’m okay.”

Mogar nodded resolutely before flicking his eyes behind the human, glaring and snarling once more.

“Gavin, behind you!”

Gavin whirled around, phaser raised, stunning another Hunter before they had the chance to swing their claws.

Mogar spun to stand back-to-back with Gavin, continuing to cut down Hunters that came at him. It was becoming less and less effective, though. Once he’d push a Hunter back, another would take their place. He needed to end this. He darted his gaze to Morranis. Go for the head.

“I’m going for Morranis. Get against a wall. Don’t let them get behind you.” He said to Gavin, feeling the taller boy nod in agreement, and feeling a small rush at the hand gently squeezing his arm.

“Be careful.”

Mogar growled low in his throat before letting loose a loud roar and dashing forward, determined to be done with this once and for all.

Gavin spun on his heel, pressing himself back against one of the smooth stone walls, stunning any Hunter that came at him. Whenever he could, he’d try and keep an eye on where Mogar was, but it was useless. The boy moved too fast.

It surprised the Lieutenant a little when Ray and Ryan flanked him against the wall, their own phasers firing.

“Are you okay, Gav?” Ray asked, out of breath.

Gavin nodded. “Yeah. Just a scratch.”

Ryan chuckled humorlessly as he took down another Hunter.

“Looks a little worse than that, buddy. Where’s Mogar?”

Gavin grunted as he pulled the trigger once more. “He’s after Morranis-”

The sentence was cut off as two loud cries echoed through the hall, followed by the clang of blades clashing.

The fight slowed to a halt as Hunters and humans both stopped to stare in wonder at the commotion by the throne.

The ferocity and speed at which the two Morylonians fought was terrifyingly beautiful.

Gavin watched with his heart in his throat and his phaser pointing aimlessly forward.

Mogar swung his sword harder than he’d ever done before. This monster was not his father, not his king. He was a plague. A parasite.

Morranis laughed in insane glee as he matched his estranged son’s blows.

“ _Your rage is astounding. If only you had grasped onto it instead of this weak compassion your foolish mother was so fond of, you would have made a great King.”_

Mogar snarled and pushed the monarch back.

“ _How dare you talk about her! You’re no King. You’ve lost anything that ever made you a ruler. You aren’t a king, you’re a fool and a lunatic. Today, you fall!”_

Clash after clash, they pushed each other back and forth. Eventually, Mogar faltered.

As Morranis swung his long blade to meet Mogar’s, the young Morylonian’s foot slipped back down one of the steps to the throne, causing him to stumble back and land on his backside, sword clattering to the ground.

Gavin’s breath caught in his throat as blind fear struck him.

Morranis sneered a twisted grin and raised his sword.

“ _Goodbye, my son.”_

Gavin’s mouth opened in a silent cry as he raised his phaser, flicking the setting from ‘Stun’ to ‘Kill’ on impulse, barely registering Ray and Ryan do the same.

However, none of it was necessary.

Before any of them could pull the trigger, a stark white blade burst through the middle of Morranis’ chest.

The entire room froze. Not one being breathed.

After what felt like an eternity, Morranis’ grin fell to a look of confusion and his gaze slid down to the blade.

His raised arm fell, the sword in it clattering to the smooth marble floor, as he turned his head to face the Morylonian behind him.

“ _Madai…my son, what have you done?”_

The Prince stared defiantly at Morranis.

“ _I am not your son.”_

Morranis choked as a trickle of blood fell from the corner of his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head as he collapsed to the floor, silent and still.

Mogar stared up at his brother in shock, panting in the aftermath of his fight.

The Hunters that still stood in the Hall slowly retreated towards the throne, kneeling with their eyes fixed on Madai.

The young Prince ignored them in favor of stepping over Morranis’ body and walking quickly over to Mogar.

The two stared at each other apprehensively for several moments before Madai offered his hand out to Mogar, his eyes cast down to the floor.

“ _Please Brar…forgive me.”_

Mogar sucked in a small breath before reaching up and grasping Madai’s hand firmly.

“ _There is no need. I forgave you a long time ago.”_

Madai released the breath he’d been holding and pulled Mogar to his feet, grasping his forearms and gently knocking their foreheads together.

Gavin nearly sobbed in relief.

It was over. Morranis was dead. There would be no war. Mogar was alive.

_Mogar was alive._

His phaser clattered noisily to the ground as he choked back a sob.

Mogar turned from his brother and met eyes with Gavin.

“Gavin…”

They rushed toward each other, meeting in a tight embrace.

Ray whooped and flung himself at Ryan, who scrambled to catch him, but laughed with a little bit of happy disbelief.

Geoff looked at his crew and turned to Jack with a tired smile.

The First Officer nodded with a proud grin. “Mission complete, Captain.”

Gavin had his face buried in Mogar’s shoulder, tears softly falling down his cheeks.

Mogar pulled his face back to stare into Gavin’s eyes. Hesitantly, he leaned forward and touched his lips to Gavin’s gently.

Gavin tensed for a second at the display of affection. Mogar, sensing his shock, pulled away, clicking his fangs together nervously for a second.

“Uh, that was a kiss, right? I read a long time ago humans do that to show love?”

Gavin searched the wild boy’s face before breaking into a wide grin.

“Yeah, we do, love.”

He pulled Mogar in, kissing him firmly once more.

(~~~)

Mogar walked the halls of the Royal Palace in a state of near elation.

Morranis was dead. The world he’d grown in was changing, and he would be the leader of it.

Madai had handed him Morranis’ sword after he and Gavin had reluctantly parted.

Mogar had been confused. Madai had struck down the king, so rightfully he would take his place.

Madai had simply shook his head and replied, “You can help them, Mogar. They need you.”

So, he had accepted.

There was so much work to be done, but Mogar was beyond hopeful. The only thing that still stuck out in his mind was Gavin.

Now that their mission on Morylon was complete, the crew of the Achievement would leave the planet to explore the rest of the galaxy. And truthfully, it tore Mogar’s heart in two.

He’d just gotten Gavin back, safe in his arms, and finally knew his feelings. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to ask him to stay. Gavin had dreamed of exploring space since he was a child. Now that he could really do it, Mogar refused to take him away from that.

His first order of business upon being crowned King would be to make peaceful connections to United Federation of Planets, and likewise, Starfleet. While he didn’t understand a good portion of the political side of things, he had Madai as his right-hand confidant. His people would be okay.

Gavin, on the other hand, was an emotional wreck internally.

Once they had finally been given quarters and time to rest after the battle, the young Brit let himself reflect on everything that had happened to him, along with everything that could still be coming.

Space was a lot different than his ten year old self imagined it would ever be. Morylon was beautiful, but deadly all at once, just like its people. There was still so much of it he had yet to see.

In his reflection, his brain kept wandering back to the Hunter he’d shot when Ray freed him. Gavin had never killed anything before in his life, save for maybe a plant or two in his old apartment. He shook his head to clear the memory away once more. He had a feeling it would be a while before he could truly get over it.

Finally, his thoughts went to Mogar. Mogar who’d saved him more times than he could count. Mogar, who had shared his deepest thoughts and memories with an alien he’d only know for a week. Mogar, who he loved so much, the thought of leaving him made Gavin want to throw up.

But it was his duty. He’d joined Starfleet with the promise of following his Captain wherever he deemed it so. And that place wasn’t set on Morylon.

A knock on the door to his room made Gavin jump and pushed him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

The door creaked open and Geoff stepped into the room with a smile on his face.

“Permission to enter, Mr. Free?”

Gavin stood from his seat on the bed.

“Of course, Captain. What do you need?”

Geoff shook his head.

“Relax, Gavin. It’s nothing important. I just came to see how you were doing. I see that cut on your cheek is looking better than before.”

Gavin absently reached up and brushed his fingers across the rapidly healing wound. The Morylonian medicine was still remarkable to him.

“Yeah. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

Geoff studied his Lieutenant for moment before speaking again.

“Yet you still look like you’re in a bit of pain. You’ve got that look, Gavin. The look I’ve seen on many of my older comrades’ faces over the years. The look that says you’ve seen more than your years know.”

Gavin smiled tiredly at his Captain.

“I’m tired, Geoff. And I…I don’t think I want to leave.”

Geoff nodded understandingly.

“I know, son. That’s why I have a question for you.”

(~~~)

Mogar frowned up at the throne from the bottom of the steps that lead up to it. He didn’t like it. Maybe he could get some stone workers to remove the steps and place the throne level with the floor.

The young king jumped in fright when the door to the hall burst open and Gavin ran in, a blinding smile on his face.

“Mogar! Mogar!”

Mogar turned with an exasperated look.

“For fuck sake, Gavin! Don’t scare me like that!”

Gavin ignored him and bounced into a tight hug.

“You’ll never believe what the Captain just offered me- what Starfleet just offered me!”

Mogar tried to steady the both of them and stop Gavin’s bouncing.

“Okay, I can not understand you when you’re shaking me like that.”

Gavin halted and just grinned at the shorter boy.

“Starfleet needs an Ambassador to keep in constant contact with Morylon in order to set up a treaty with the Federation. Admiral Burns offered to station me here in order to become Morylon’s Ambassador. I can stay here with you!”

He cut off with a breathy laugh before sheepishly bowing his head and running his hand through his hair in a slightly nervous fashion.

“I mean, that is…if you’ll have me stay.”

The words barely left his mouth before Mogar yanked him into a biting kiss. He was still new to this, so it was a little awkward, but Gavin could feel the meaning and passion behind it.

Mogar broke the kiss to rest his forehead against Gavin’s.

“ _Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Stay with me. Please, Gavin. I love you.”_

Gavin chuckled, “Slow down, love. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

Mogar slowly pulled Gavin down into another kiss, this one slow and gentle, but no less passionate.

His smile answered as he pulled back.

“Yes, Gavin. I love you.”

Gavin’s heart soared at the words. A huge grin split his face as he hugged Mogar to his chest and lovingly nestled his smiling face into the curly brown hair.

The two stood like that for a second before Mogar huffed and pulled back a bit, looking at Gavin with slight confusion.  
“But…what about your ship and your crewmates? You told me that traveling through space was your dream. If you stay here, you won’t be able to do that.”

Gavin sighed and took Mogar’s clawed hands gently into his own.

“I’ve thought about that. And the truth is, coming here and being on this planet has given me a rather…erm, let’s say ‘harsh’, introduction into what my life in Starfleet will bring.”

He squeezed Mogar’s hands softly and looked down at the floor, avoiding Mogar’s concerned gaze in order to gather his thoughts.

“There’s so much conflict everywhere in the galaxy. War and hatred aren’t just going to go away because I don’t like them. There is always going to be a planet or its people who hate humanity. And…” Gavin lifted his head and met Mogar’s eyes with a resigned look. “…I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

Mogar frowned a bit, but reached up and placed one of his hands on Gavin’s cheek.

“There are still people on _this_ planet that hate humanity, too. I vow to change that while I reign, but it will take time.”

Gavin smiled and leaned into Mogar’s touch.

“I know, love. And I know that it’s going to be hard, but you’ll be there with me.”

He leaned in and pecked a kiss to Mogar’s lips.

“I might always love the idea of exploring the stars. But I’m _in love_ with you. And there’s no place I’d rather be.”

 

 

**Epilogue**

 

Captain Ramsey sat restlessly in his seat among numerous other Captains in the huge hall Starfleet had decorated for their annual Interplanetary Peace celebration. The rest of the Achievement crew sat a few tables over, enjoying themselves and the food and music while he was stuck in ‘stuffy-land’ with the rest of the Captains who enjoyed making small talk and polite conversation about their voyages.

He’d gladly get up and make his way around the room, maybe chat with the Ambassador from Vulcan, but he was currently stuck in never ending conversation with some Captain he’d never asked the name of from some ship he’d forgotten.

“The cushions on the new model of Medbay cots are horribly firm, don’t you think? Couldn’t be worse for my back or-“

“Pardon me gentlemen, but might I interrupt your conversation to ask if you might be able to tell me where I can find a Captain Geoff Ramsey?”

Geoff nearly jolted out of his seat at the sound of the familiar British accent behind him.

As he spun around to meet the grinning face of Gavin Free, he laughed so loudly the tables next to him looked over in confusion.

“Gavin, my boy! It’s been three years!”

Gavin laughed as well as his former Captain locked him in a crushing hug.

“It’s good to see you Geoff! I’ve missed you.”

The Captain who’d been speaking to Geoff looked flabbergasted.

“Welcome, Ambassador Free. I’ll let you two have some time to uh, reunite. If you’ll excuse me.”

Once he had gone, Geoff nearly groaned in relief.

“Thank God. I thought I’d never get rid of him. You’re a godsend, Gavin. Whoops, I mean, _Ambassador Free._ How have you been getting used to that?”

Gavin chuckled and scratched at his cheek.

“It took a little while. Now I have to start getting used to this Royal Consort nonsense.”

Geoff’s eyes widened as he huffed a surprised laugh.

“No shit? You and Mogar tied the Morylonian knot? Congrats, my boy!’

Gavin blushed a little.

“Thanks, Geoff. That means a lot. Mogar should be around here somewhere.”

A sudden clattering of glasses and a few surprised gasps came from behind them.

“MOGAR!”

“Ray! Calm down, holy shit!”

Gavin sighed and turned to see Ray basically climbing the young King, while Ryan and Lindsay had their hands out to catch him…or stop him.

“There he is.”

Geoff laughed loudly.

“You better go save him from Ray. But watch out, he’ll get you next.”

Gavin laughed and hugged Geoff again before heading over to his former crew, meeting Ray’s excited hug with his own and accepting hugs and congratulations from various crew members.

Geoff watched the scene with a swell of pride and happiness.

Space could be a dangerous and wild place, but there was a sense of home that he found when he was around his crew.

Gavin was happy, he’d made the right choice.

The final frontier had never seemed so wide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it.  
> Once again, thank you so much.  
> And as i'm sure Mr.Nemoy would implore me to say once more,
> 
> Live long and prosper!


End file.
